Overcoming Differences
by FireAnne47
Summary: Can Edward and Roy overcome their differences to conquer the challenges that await them? Or will everything fall apart due to the lack of trust and respect between the two? Parental RoyXEd. No Yaoi.
1. The Late Report

**Hello Everyone! This is my first fanfic so I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. Please feel free to give me any tips or pointers. This may start off a tad slow but I promise it will get better.**

**The story takes place right around FMA Brotherhood Episode 21. For the purpose of this story, let's just say that Roy's wounds have healed and Havoc is up and moving in a wheelchair.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER I**

**THE LATE REPORT**

"Hey, Ed," Winry Rockbell approached quietly. Her blonde ponytail swayed from side to side as she skipped over to her friend's bed.

Edward Elric let out a morning grumble and rolled over onto his side. He pulled the white covers over his head to hide the light streaming in from the window.

"Brother, get up already," Alphonse Elric moaned. His armor body clamored as he approached his sleeping brother.

Edward let out a loud sigh and sat up in bed. "What do you guys want?" He asked in a pained voice while rubbing his eyes and letting out a yawn. He looked over to Winry and his foggy mind started to clear up. "Why are you all dressed up? Are you going somewhere, Winry?" Ed inquired kindly while swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He felt the cold of the hardwood floor on his flesh foot and drew it up quickly.

"Ed, I got a call from Garfiel… I need to make a rush visit to repair some of my clients. I'm leaving in just a few minutes but I should be back in around a week. Is that okay?"

Ed smiled and nodded. "You have people that need you, Winry. I'm not going to be the one that keeps the world's greatest automail mechanic away from her customers." Ed paused and thought for a moment. He turned to his younger brother and stared at him intently.

"Is something on your mind, brother?" Al questioned. He shifted in his chair and his armor rubbed together causing an unpleasant screeching sound to ring in everyone's ears.

"I think you should go to Rush Valley with Winry, Al. With all that's been going on around here, I'd feel better if she had someone with her while she's away. And besides, I have to go see the colonel and _I'm sure_ he's going to have some work for me to do."

"I wouldn't mind having an extra hand to help me out with all of my backed up customers. You wouldn't mind that, Al would you?" Winry smiled brightly to convince Alphonse of going with her.

Al looked back and forth between Winry and Edward and finally let out a sigh. "Just don't go getting into trouble while I'm gone! And mind your manners with the colonel! I just know this is a bad idea, leaving you all alone in central with no one to keep you in check, but I just can't say no to Winry's smile."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Al! Now I can get done quicker and we'll be back before you know it! Try not to destroy Central while we're gone, Ed!" Winry called as she picked up her jacket and rushed out of the door, dragging Al behind her.

Ed laughed and ran his hand through his bangs. He excitedly hopped off the bed and started for the shower. On his way, he noticed an envelope sitting on the table and his blood ran cold. "SHIT! I was supposed to drop that off yesterday!" Ed dove into the shower and hurriedly got ready for the day. Without even bothering to grab breakfast, he ran out of the dorm room with envelope in one hand and red jacket in the other._ 'Mustang's gonna have my ass for this!'_

…

"So Fullmetal, you've finally decided to drop off your report," Colonel Roy Mustang snorted. He kept his head buried in his paperwork while the young alchemist stepped into his dull office. The rest of his crew continued with their work even though they knew where this encounter would eventually lead.

"Shut up and take the damn report," Edward hissed. He plopped onto his favorite couch and crossed his legs.

Mustang flipped through another report while he began his lecture. "Fullmetal, you need to get your priorities straight. I am your commanding officer and you need to turn your reports in on time. What the hell were you doing for the past three days?"

Ed shuddered as he remembered the visit to the remains of his burned house. The sickness he had felt from the rain and the memory of that _thing_ he and Al transmuted consumed his thoughts for only a mere moment until he returned to reality. "None of your damn business."

"You know, bad manners aren't an attractive quality to most people. As well as being _short._"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!?" Ed screamed. He stood up angrily and stormed for the door._ 'I don't have to stay here and deal with that bastard. I've got better things to do.'_ As Ed reached for the door, the colonel's phone began to ring. Normally, Ed would have left as quickly as possible to get back to Al, but since he was alone for the week, Ed decided to stay and listen to the call.

"Yes? Uh-huh. Okay. Uh-huh… Alright, I'll send someone right away." Roy placed the phone back on the receiver and looked up to his youngest subordinate. "Hey, Shorty; you wanna catch a criminal for me?"

Ed growled as steam radiated from his very being. "Call me short one more time…" He snarled.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, we've got a rogue alchemist terrorizing the city. Can you handle it or not, Fullmetal?"

Ed smirked and pulled on his jacket. "Don't you worry your pretty little ass, Colonel. Consider it done."

Ed closed the door behind him as he heard the colonel give one final call. "And turn the damn report in on time for once!" Ed spat out a curse at the colonel's remark and started for the scene.

"Sir," First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye started. She walked over to the colonel's desk and set down a few more files. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh to Fullmetal?"

The colonel let out a pfft and continued his work. "That brat deserved it."

"Really, sir? Because I don't recall him saying anything smart to you before you called him short," The lieutenant stated matter-of-factly.

The colonel looked up and met Riza's scolding stare. He returned to his paperwork with a scowl on his face, realizing his trusted lieutenant was right. "I've got too much work to do to be worrying about some kid's damn feelings," Mustang pouted.

"Yes, sir." Riza saluted Roy as she walked out of his office to get the rest of his files. Once she was gone, the rest of Mustang's crew busted into laughter.

"What the hell are all of you laughing at!?" Roy shouted, his onyx eyes boring holes into each one of his subordinates.

"Damn, colonel, she's got you whipped!" Jean Havoc bellowed while rocking back and forth in his wheelchair. He pulled a cigarette and lighter out of his blue military jacket and lit up a smoke. The grey wisps swirled around his dirty blonde hair and rose to the ceiling.

"Take it outside, Havoc. The rest of us want to live longer than fifty," Mustang sighed. He began to sign the next stack of documents the lieutenant had brought him. _'First I get a late report from Fullmetal, then my own lieutenant calls me out on being an ass and my whole team laughs about it! That shrimp better hope he gets his ass kicked on this assignment… If not, I'm going to kick it myself…'_

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**Alright, so I'm pretty sure that sucked on any number of levels. But hey, who am I to be a pessimist? Why don't I let the lovely readers voice their opinions. Please, I'm begging you, be gentle with me. **

**For future reference, I plan to update on Fridays from this point forward. If you're very adamant on me updating sooner, I might consider it. Don't worry, I'm a pushover. Until next time, comrades! **


	2. The Pen in the Envelope

**Well, hello again everyone! I must say, I love all of you so much right now. *cries tears of joy* Fret not my friends, for longer chapters shall come. I knew the first one was a little short (and kicked myself a bit for it) but I most definitely will work on making them longer. To be completely honest, I wasn't actually expecting someone would read it. Thank you so much for all the tips. They're really helpful. (I also used that italicizing tip and edited the last chapter) **

**Anyways, I hope the wait wasn't too bad. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER II**

**THE PEN IN THE ENVELOPE**

"Thank god the state alchemist is finally here!" An MP dressed in the typical military uniform screeched. He gave a slightly confused look as Ed approached him. "You're who they sent?"

Ed rolled his eyes and flashed his state alchemist pocket watch. "What's the situation here?" He asked, slightly annoyed with the MP's comment.

"Uh…" The dark haired soldier pulled out a file and read it aloud to Ed. "Michael Foster, forty-one, former state alchemist."

"Anything special about this guy I should know before I kick his ass?" Ed questioned impatiently. The unusual cold weather was not agreeing with his automail arm and leg and he wanted to get back to his dorm as quickly as possible.

"He likes to blind his opponents with his alchemy. But that shouldn't be a problem for a state alchemist, right?"

An explosion to the left cut off their conversation and Ed took off in the direction of the fight. A few soldiers stumbled out of the dust and smoke with their hands covering their eyes. They were quickly ushered out of the way as Ed charged at the culprit.

_'Damn… this guy really did a number around here…_' Ed thought as he ran through the alleys of central. He could see the remnants of transmutations on several of the brick buildings. Every now and then, he'd hear an explosion followed by the cries of blinded soldiers and he'd hurry in that direction. The cold was slowing him down though, and the pain where his automail connected with his flesh steadily increased.

As Ed turned a corner, he bumped into an MP wiping tears from his eyes. "What happened!?" Ed asked frantically, wanting to stop the rogue alchemist as soon as possible.

"The culprit used his alchemy to blind me and a few other soldiers. I got away with my sight thought," The ever-so-slightly scared soldier answered. He was shaking like a leaf from his near-blinding experience.

"Which way did he go?" Ed inquired impatiently. He tapped his automail foot while he waited for the answer.

"Towards the warehouse district. He didn't get too far, though. One of my bullets hit him so he must've slowed down some." The soldier stepped to the side as Ed took off. "Hey! Watch yourself, kid!" He called while Ed raced off.

Luckily, the soldier was right. Ed found Michael Foster leaning against a wall of one of the warehouses. Blood trickled out of the man's arm, but it only looked like a flesh wound.

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his automail arm into a blade, preparing himself for the fight. Foster, having heard the clap, turned on his heels to face Ed. "Well well well… if it isn't the Fullmetal Alchemist. It's such a shame that the military has to send a runt to come catch me. I don't exactly enjoy beating the shit out of _little _kids, but what can you do?" Foster laughed and placed his hand on the wall. A few blue sparks and a high-pitched ring and a series of stone pillars shot out of the wall and straight for Ed.

Edward jumped out of the way just in time and returned the attack with an attack of his own. He clapped his hands and placed them on the ground, causing the ground around Foster to rise up and surround him. Ed smirked as he approached the makeshift prison. _'Too easy,'_ He thought confidently.

Abruptly, the wall of Ed's makeshift prison was transmuted into a beam and collided with Ed's stomach. This sent him flying backwards and crashing into the ground with a thud. Ed rubbed his head as he jumped to his feet and readied himself for the next attack.

"C'mon, you little insect, just get outta here before you get hurt," Foster teased. He laughed again as Ed's temper got the better of him.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING AN INSECT!? You're going to regret you ever said that!" Ed screamed as he rushed at the criminal. A strong punch to the face from Ed's automail arm and a swift kid to the ribs by his automail leg later and the rogue alchemist was on the ground gasping for air. "An insect couldn't do that, now could they?" Ed transmuted a pair of handcuffs around Foster's wrists and then ripped the metal cuff off of his arm. It had a transmutation circle engraved in it to allow the person wearing it to do alchemy quickly. "Nice trick. Too bad it won't do you any good now," Ed said as he smashed the cuff with his automail foot.

Right on cue, a series of MPs rushed to Ed and Foster and quickly worked to assess the situation. Several of the men asked Ed if he was injured, and all were given the response of no. As things were finally sorted out, one soldier handed Ed an envelope.

"I was instructed by Colonel Mustang to give this to you," The soldier stated. His green eyes stared at Ed enthusiastically, as if he were waiting for Ed to read to the contents of the envelope aloud.

Edward pulled a note out of the envelope and growled. It was a note from the colonel. _'Fill this out and have it back to me TODAY, Fullmetal.' _Ed rolled his eyes and tucked the envelope into his jacket. "Thanks, officer. I'll make sure to fill this out right away." As Ed began to walk away, a thought occurred to him. He quickly turned around and regained the attention of the soldier. "Those soldiers who were blinded… they'll get their sight back, right?"

The MP smiled and nodded. "Yep! The effects are only temporary. In fact, some soldiers have already begun to regain their sight from this morning. And another thing, this was a rather successful mission! Sure there's damage to the buildings and a few soldiers were scratched up here and there, but there wasn't a single casualty! You make sure to give the colonel my thanks for sending such a helpful alchemist." The soldier gave Ed a wink before ruffing up his hair and walking away. It reminded Ed of the way Hughes would act at the end of a particularly good assignment.

Edward began the trek back to Central Command. He wasn't entirely sure he was going the right way, nor did he care. Again, he pulled the envelope out of his jacket and dumped the contents into his hand. The blank report and a pen occupied his automail appendage. "He was even kind enough to send me a pen," Ed laughed sarcastically. He stopped and propped the paper up onto a wall as he began to fill it out. _'I bet that bastard thinks I won't turn it in on time. Well I'm going to prove him wrong today!'_ Ed's eyes filled with fire as he filled in the details of the arrest. In no time, he finished and replaced the paper into the envelope, sealing it closed and replacing it securely in his jacket.

…

The journey towards Central Command was a cold, quiet one. It was almost too quiet for Ed's preference. He stared up at the overcast sky and frowned. The thought of another storm sent chills up his spine. _'This cold weather sucks...'_ Ed whined silently.

As Ed rounded a corner, he bumped into a familiar, yellow-clad figure. Ed's eyes widened as the dark skinned, red eyed man turned to face him. _'What the hell is he doing here!?'_ Ed thought in a fury as he dodged the Ishvalan's hand.

"Well, Fullmetal Alchemist, it appears as if fate has made our paths cross yet again. However, this time I can assure you, judgment will be dealt for my people." Scar raised his arm and started for Ed again rapidly.

"Why can't you just leave me alone, Scar!?" Ed cried as he jumped out of the way. He clapped his hands and sent a number of stone spears in Scar's direction. All of them were either avoided or destroyed by Scar's tattooed arm.

"It was the dogs of the military that murdered all of my people. Justice must be served to right the wrongs you Amestrians have done." Scar slammed his fist into Ed's gut and followed up with a knee to the same area.

Ed hunched over in pain as he tried to catch his breath. He noticed that Scar was advancing on him. _'This isn't looking good…'_ Ed thought desperately. He was still trying to catch his breath from the last fight and now this revenge-crazed Ishvalan was all over him. Ed transmuted the ground under him and rose high into the sky on a stone platform. He was hoping to hop onto the roof of one of the warehouses, but his plans were destroyed when Scar deconstructed the pillar of stone, causing Ed to come crashing to the concrete. The wind was knocked out of him and it felt like his entire body was on fire from the impact. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, leaving an unpleasant sinking feeling in his gut.

"Say your final prayers, Fullmetal Alchemist."

Spots clouded Ed's vision, but he still managed to roll out of the way as Scar's hand came crashing down. Edward quickly transmuted the concrete around the Ishvalan's hand and took off running. He didn't make it far before Scar broke free and resumed his chase. The two fought back and forth with Edward transmuting stone spears and shooting them in Scar's direction, and Scar destroying each one that came near him. Edward was lucky enough for one of his projectiles to graze Scar's leg, slowing him down just enough for Ed to stop and take a quick breath. It was short lived as Scar picked up his pace, fiery determination in his red eyes.

_'Dammit!'_ Ed thought furiously as he swerved around another corner. _'Why can't he just give me a break for once!?'_

"Running is futile, Fullmetal Alchemist!" Scar called as he steadily gained on Edward. A smile crept onto his face as the distance between the two shortened.

Ed clapped his hands together and transmuted a wall in between him and Scar. He paused for a moment to catch his breath before he took off running again with his red coat blowing in the wind. A second later, Scar destroyed the wall and lunged at Edward, his hand ready to kill the young alchemist.

Ed ducked to the left and took off down a narrow alley. Scar, being fed up with the chase, placed his hand on the wall and destroyed the section next to Edward. Ed let out a yelp of pain as the wall crumbled on top of him. One particularly large chunk collided with his head, leaving a nice injury. The rest of the wall settled on top of him, hiding him from Scar's sight for just a moment. Little did Scar know, the decision to befall that wall onto Edward would not end the chase in his favor.

"This is the end, Fullmetal Alchemist. By joining the state and becoming a dog of the military, you have sealed your own fate. Take this time to ask for forgiveness from your god of choice." Scar reached down in the rubble and readied himself to end the young alchemist's life.

"I'm not dying today, Scar! I still have my brother to take care of!" Ed yelled as he burst out of the rubble. He took out the pen Mustang had sent him and used it to create a makeshift bomb. The only thing it really did was send ink into Scar's eyes, temporarily blinding him and giving Ed the opportunity to escape. He ran as fast as he possibly could out of the alleys and into the open Amestris streets._ 'Scar wouldn't risk following me out here... I'm safe… for now…'_ Ed thought in relief.

"Hey, kid; you alright?" A fishmonger inquired as Ed trudged past the fish stand. He vainly tried to stop the beaten kid, but didn't think much of it as Ed continued down the street without saying a word.

A cool breeze worked against Ed as he trekked towards Central Command. He shivered and grabbed at his jacket, hoping to retain some amount of heat.

_'I've got… to get this report to Mustang…'_ Ed mused as his thoughts slowly left him. He felt himself fading, and fast. _'I'm gonna prove that bastard wrong…'_

Lost in his own thoughts, Edward didn't notice the young Xingese prince pop up next to him. "So, Edward, wanna tell me how to get one of those fancy armor bodies?" Ling Yao asked innocently. He skipped along next to Ed as bouncy as ever.

"What do you want, Ling?" Ed asked in a pained voice. He rolled his eyes and continued forward. The heaviness of his automail was starting to slow him down, but he pushed on, being the strong, determined alchemist he was.

Ling scanned Ed up and down with his squinted eyes. "You okay, Ed? You don't look so hot…"

Ed gritted his teeth and wrapped his arm around his rib cage. A sharp pain shot through his body and he clenched his human fist tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white. "I'm fine. I just had a little run in with Scar, that's all."

"Really?" Ling asked sarcastically. He swiped his finger quickly across Ed's forehead and held it up to Ed's eyes. "Last time I checked, bleeding from your head doesn't exactly constitute _fine_."

Ed hadn't noticed the blood before, but he wasn't about to tell that idiot prince about the pain he was in. Although the paleness of his face and the limp in his step advertised his pain rather clearly, making it difficult to hide. "I said I'm fine, Ling! Now why the hell are you bugging me?"

"I already told you, I want to know how to be immortal. So c'mon, Ed, spill your secrets," Ling urged. He had that cocky Ling grin spread across his face, hoping it would persuade his alchemist friend.

Ed sighed and picked up his pace, quickly regretting that decision as spots began to cloud his vision again. But he felt some wave of relief wash over him as Central Command came into sight. "You'd better get lost, Ling. You're a wanted fugitive, remember?"

"I suppose…" Ling mumbled. "Just don't get yourself killed, alright? You still have to tell me how to become immortal!" Ling called as he disappeared into the shadows of Amestris.

Edward, unaware that Ling was still watching him from the rooftops, finally let out a small groan of pain. He hadn't realized that Scar had done so much damage. And Ling wasn't kidding when he said he didn't look so hot. The cold was really getting to him and he felt himself fading. He could barely keep his eyes open as he stumbled past the guards on either side of the front entrance of Central Command. _'Damn that Scar! I'm… I'm gonna kick his ass… the next time… I see… him…'_ With that last thought, Edward collapsed onto the front lawn of Central Command, letting the cold clutches of unconsciousness consume him.

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**Hopefully this chapter was a bit longer. Again, I just have to say, I love all of you so much! Those reviews just made my day! It's a nice change of pace to receive constructive critism! I hope I used all of your tips correctly! If I missed something, don't hesitate to inform me! **

**So the fate of this story rests on the outcome of Tuesday's events... I'M TAKING MY DRIVING TEST! I'm so nervous! So if I fail, I'll probably have to find a nice rock to live under for the rest of my pitiful life... But I'm not planning on failing! *lets out a triumphant laugh* Anyways, wish me luck! (I'll update either way :) Can't let all of my wonderful readers down!)**


	3. The Nightmare

**IIIII'MMMMMMMMM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Guess what! I got my license! I'm so excited! FREEDOM! Okay, okay, I'm chill now.**

** Anyways, it's wonderful to see all of you again! And again, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and tips! I love all of you so much! So I was really pleased with this chapter. Not as much excitement as the last, but at least we finally have some Roy/Ed interaction. And I swear to Truth, this story IS going somewhere! **

**Okay, I just want to say this right now so hopefully any confusion could be avoided. After the first line break in the story, where everything is italicized, that starts off as a dream. When it returns to the regular style typing, that's when the character wakes up. I figured all of you could figure this out on your own but I just wanted to point it out to make sure. **

**And as always, any tips or pointers will be greatly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER III**

**THE NIGHTMARE**

"Dammit, Havoc! If you have to smoke in here at least open a window!" Roy whined. The vein on his forehead bulged from the anger at the smoke rising from the cigarette. Roy wrapped his fist around his pen and squeezed hard, wishing he had a stress ball right then.

"Alright, chief, relax. I've got it," Havoc said as he wheeled himself over to the window. With a bit of struggle, he managed to push the window up and let in a cool breeze. The smoke quickly cleared out of the room allowing Mustang's crew to breathe easily once again.

"Thank you, Havoc. Now get back to work," Roy ordered, slightly irritated with his subordinate's bad habit. He signed another report before looking over to the clock on the wall. The pendulum swayed in rhythm to the tick tock of the hands. _'Dammit! Fullmetal should be back by now! What's taking that kid so long!? I even took the time to have someone give him a report to fill out. He's doing this just to get on my nerves. I can hear his mocking, bratty voice right now…'_

"Excuse me."

Every head in the office shot up from the file they were working on and turned towards the unexpected voice. And low and behold, Ling sat on the windowsill with a straight face, waiting for someone to respond. But, when no response was received, Ling decided he might as well just continue.

"The one you call Scar left you a gift on the front lawn." Ling paused and shifted his position on the windowsill. He narrowed his gaze on Mustang before he continued. "I'd suggest you tend to it right away." He hopped off the window and waved to the group. "But other than that, have a nice day!" Ling called as he disappeared from sight.

A minute of shocked and confused silence passed. Breda's jaw was on the floor and Havoc nearly fell out of his wheelchair from the surprise. Mustang and Hawkeye seemed to be locked in a trance. They remained this way until someone finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

"What was that all about?" Breda questioned, being the first one to recover from the surprise.

Roy shook out of his daze and looked over to Riza. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Then the realization hit. _'Did that kid just say Scar!?'_ Roy thought in a rage. He jumped out of his leather, swivel chair and dove for the window. _'What's Scar doing in Central again!? And what could he have done that we need to take care of right away!?' _Roy's eyes landed on what Ling was referring to and he gasped. "Oh shit!" He screamed.

"Sir?" Riza asked, trying to keep her composure. The shock in the colonel's voice was a little unsettling.

"Dammit! Someone tell the infirmary that we've got an injured alchemist!" Roy grabbed his jacket and jumped out of the window, thankful he was positioned on the first floor.

"Did the colonel just jump out of the window?" Havoc muttered with disbelief. He wheeled himself over to the window and watched his commanding officer sprint across the yard. "What's he doing…?" Havoc strained his eyes and finally found what was troubling the colonel. "Oh man! It's Fullmetal!"

"What!?" Breda shouted. He ran over to the window next to Havoc and leaned out it to get a better look. And sure enough, the colonel was kneeling next to an unconscious Fullmetal.

Roy came to a skidding halt next to the unmoving Edward. _'Shit shit shit! Oh god, oh god! Please don't be dead… Please, please don't be dead!'_ He thought as he frantically knelt down and searched for a pulse. He breathed a quick sigh of relief once he found it, but soon returned to his worry when the blonde kid refused to wake up. Roy shook him lightly by the shoulders and tried to keep his composure. "C'mon, Fullmetal, snap out of it," Roy ordered as calmly as he possibly could. He grabbed Ed's shoulder and rolled him over, but was shocked to see the blood running down his forehead. _'Damn that Scar!'_

"Sir!" Riza called as she rushed up next to him. A look of concern flashed across her face when she saw the injured boy, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "What's the situation?"

"I do not know, Lieutenant…" Roy admitted quietly. He slipped his arm under Ed's knees and the other one around his back and staggered to his feet. _'Kid's pretty heavy for being so small…'_

"Sir, I have informed the infirmary and they are prepared to treat Fullmetal." Her stern voice and hard stare managed to conceal the worry crawling around in her mind.

Roy nodded and took off back into the building, his mind racing the whole time. _'I know I said he'd better get his ass kicked, but I didn't really mean it…'_

…

_"M-mom?" Edward asked, clearly confused. He looked from side to side and took in his surroundings. The deep green grass stretched as far as the eye could see without a single tree to be found. The same could be said for the sky with the exception of it being blue and there being a lack of clouds. A warm, comforting breeze blew Ed's hair to the side, his red jacket mimicking the action._

_ Ed slowly approached the angelic figure standing atop a short hill. Her beautiful chestnut hair flowed from side to side in the wind. "Mom? Is that you?" Ed asked, curiosity rising in his voice. He reached out with his flesh hand, not wanting his own mother to feel the metallic one, and grabbed the woman's shoulder. "Mom? It's me, Ed."_

_ In a flash, the sky turned a deep, ominous purple and the grass died away. The beautiful woman was replaced by that _thing_ Ed and Al had transmuted all those years ago. _

_ "Why, Edward?" It asked, tilting its head to the side for emphasis. Her body immediately turned to face Ed, and he couldn't keep the shock and fear from filling his golden eyes. _

_ Ed stumbled backwards with wide eyes. "N-no… y-you're not our mother! I know! I checked!" Ed screamed. He backed into something big and metallic. He turned his head to see his brother staring down at him. "Alphonse?" Ed questioned, a hint of relief penetrating his frantic voice._

_ "Why, brother? Why did you trap me in this armor? I can't eat or sleep or feel anymore. It's all your fault, brother. It's your fault that I'm not human anymore."_

_ Ed broke away from his brother's hold and ducked to the right. "I'm sorry, Al! I didn't mean it! I never wanted this to happen!" Ed closed his eyes tightly and started to run. Not making it very far, Ed tripped over some unknown presence and landed face first into the dead landscape. He opened his eyes to see the Nina chimera standing over him._

_ "Big brother? Wanna play? Big brother? Wanna play?" She chanted over and over again. _

_ "No, no, no! I'm sorry! Please! I'm so sorry!" Ed cried. He got to his hands and knees and began to crawl away. The open field faded away into a burning house. _His _burning house. The flames danced around Ed as he gathered himself into a corner. Smoke filled his lungs and he coughed vainly. It felt like the smoke was forcing him down, crushing him into oblivion. _

_ "You didn't burn my home down as motivation; you burned it to hide your failures."_

_ Ed opened his eyes to see his father standing before him, a look of disapproval sprawled across his face. "N-no…" Ed whimpered. It was too much. He couldn't take it anymore. "Y-you're wrong!"_

_ "Why, Edward?" The failed human transmutation asked as it appeared from the flames._

_ "It's all your fault," Alphonse accused, also appearing from the dancing fire._

_ "Big brother? Wanna play?" Nine asked, coming from behind Alphonse. The three, as well as Hohenheim, began their advance on Edward, trapping him in the corner._

_ "I'm sorry! Please! I didn't mean to!" Ed cried while squeezing his eyes closed to hide his failures._

_ "Fullmetal! Wake up!" A stern voice ordered through the chants._

_ The chants continued to drill down on him, each one attached with their own painful memory. Ed shook his head and covered his ears. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"_

"FULLMETAL!" Roy yelled.

Ed's eyes snapped open and he shot up in bed. Furiously, he wiped the sweat away from his face and slowed down his erratic breathing.

"You alright, Fullmetal?" Roy inquired in his ever-so steady voice. It concealed his underlying concern well. _'He's really upset. I've never seen someone fight for their life in their sleep…' _He gently placed his hand on Ed's shoulder, hoping to calm the boy down.

Ed blinked a few times and finally came to his senses. _'Damn nightmares…'_ He thought in disgust. Then he noticed the hand on his shoulder and shrugged it away. "Just dandy," Ed hissed. He looked around and some of the earlier confusion returned. "Where am I?"

Roy rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "What? You think I was just going to leave you in the front yard? What do you think the Fuhrer would do if he looked out his window and saw a bloody alchemist sprawled out right in front of Central Command?"

Ed growled at the colonel and clawed the white sheet lying over his legs. "You didn't answer my question."

"Not smart enough to figure it out, eh? You're in the infirmary, moron. What were you thinking, walking back here all alone!? It's no wonder that Scar beat your short ass to a pulp!" Roy scolded. He crossed his arms and waited for a smart-ass answer.

"I AM NOT SHORT!" Ed screeched. He threw the sheet off of his legs and swung them over the side of the bed to get up. _'Damn colonel and his damn short comments with that damn smirk…'_

"And where do you think you're going?" Roy asked sarcastically. He grabbed Ed by his collar and pulled him back onto the bed. It was responded to by a small yelp of pain coming from the young alchemist. _'Calm yourself down, Mustang,'_ Roy scolded himself silently.

"I'm going back to my dorm!" Ed shouted. He grabbed at his side and gritted his teeth in response to the pain tearing through his body.

"Like hell you are," Roy retorted. He handed Ed a glass of water and two small, blue pills.

Once the pain passed, Ed looked down at the colonel's hand and raised his eyebrow. "What are those?"

Roy put them in Ed's hand and shoved the water to his face. "Pain killers. You broke a rib from the fight. Speaking of which, what the hell happened to you?" Roy watched as Ed swallowed the pills and couldn't help but frown. _'Kids shouldn't have to take pain killers for broken ribs…'_ He thought sadly.

Ed finished off the crisp water and set the glass to the side before beginning his explanation. "I was on my way back from catching that rogue alchemist when Scar appears out of nowhere! And that bastard doesn't even think twice about blowing up my brains! I couldn't land one damn hit! I was lucky you sent that stupid pen…" Ed trailed off as he remembered the completed report. "Hey, colonel, hand me my jacket."

"Remember your position, Fullmetal," Roy sneered in response to the unintentional order. Despite that, he reached for Ed's red signature jacket and threw it over to him. "Don't think you're leaving just yet."

"Cool your jets, colonel." Ed dug in one of the pockets and pulled out the finished report. He held it out with a cocky smile on his face. _'I can't wait to see the look on Mustang's face when he figures out what this is.'_

"What's this?" Roy asked unemotionally, grabbing the slightly damaged envelope. He slipped his thumb into one corner and ripped it open. _'He probably needs more research money. The military is going to go broke because of him.'_

"Sorry, but I couldn't return the pen." Ed had an innocent grin on his face. He looked like a child who was waiting for someone to open the present he made them.

Roy smiled as he pulled out the finished report. He nodded after he finished reading the hardly legible handwriting. "Look at you, Fullmetal, turning a report in early. You didn't actually have to get it done right after the arrest…" Roy trailed off as realization hit him. _'If he hadn't stopped to do this… he wouldn't have bumped into Scar. And I was so insistent on him getting it done today…'_

"Damn, colonel, you don't have to be so upset about it," Ed commented, seeing the disturbed look on Roy's face. Oddly enough, Ed felt a pang of disappointment due to the colonel's lackluster response. _'I finally turn one of his stupid reports in on time and that bastard doesn't even have the decency to act happy.' _

Roy shook his head and smiled at the blonde kid sitting in front of him. "It's about damn time you turn one of these in early," Roy mocked halfheartedly. "Hey…" He began nervously. "What was that dream all about?"

Visions of the nightmare flashed across Ed's mind and he had to turn away from the colonel. "None of your damn business," Ed snapped with the same cold response he had given the colonel earlier that day. _'Nosy son – of – a bitch.'_

_'I pushed a button…'_ Roy realized. He saw Ed yawn and decided it would be best to get back to work. "Those pills are going to make you tired. I'll come back in a little while to check on you, alright? Then we'll see if you're well enough to go home. Can you handle it on your own for now?"

Ed nodded and fell back onto his pillow. He watched the colonel start to walk away, but was a bit confused when he stopped and turned back around. "Now what're you going to lecture me about?" Ed whined. He really didn't have the energy to listen to Mustang drone on and on about something he did wrong.

"Hey, Fullmetal… do you want me to call Alphonse for you?" Roy offered, softening his stern voice just a bit.

Ed blinked a few times and shook his head no. "He's in Rush Valley helping out Winry. I don't want him to worry and come back here. But thanks for the offer, colonel."

_'He's all alone…?' _Roy realized suddenly. "Alright… I guess if you need anything, just come find me." With that, Roy disappeared behind the white door, leaving Ed alone with his thoughts.

Ed lied in his bed in a state of disbelief. _'Was the colonel being nice to me?'_ He pondered as another yawn escaped his mouth. The intense white of the infirmary consumed him and he felt himself slowly giving into the sleep inducing pills.

…

"Hey, colonel!" Havoc shouted enthusiastically as Roy pushed into his office. "How's Fullmetal?"

Roy flopped into his chair and threw the report onto his desk. His mind was overflowing with thoughts. _'I wish he would've waited until he got back here to fill out the report. Not only did he get his ass kicked, but his handwriting is horrible! Listen to me… I just can't be satisfied…'_

"Sir." Riza's stern voice snapped Roy out of his thoughts.

"Yes, lieutenant?"

"We'd all like an update on Fullmetal's condition. If you'd be so kind as to share with us, sir, we'll happily return to our work." Her strong brown eyes bore into Roy's slightly surprised onyx ones.

Roy blinked the surprise away and nodded. "He'll be just fine. But send out an alert to all state alchemists that Scar is on the large again. Make sure word gets to Major Armstrong as well. I know this is his day off so someone will have to drop by his house." Roy sighed and picked up his pen to resume his work. _'It's to wonder why I don't have nightmares about all this damn paperwork.'_

"Sir, are you okay?" Riza asked as she set another stack of files onto his desk. That damn paperwork just kept coming.

"Yes, I'm just fine," Roy replied without looking up from his work.

"Are you worried about Edward?"

Mustang's entire crew stopped their work and waited for his answer. This was an intriguing topic.

Roy paused but still refused to tear his gaze from the papers in front of him. "Fullmetal is strong enough to handle himself. He doesn't need me to be worrying about him."

Riza gave a small sigh of disappointment and returned to her duties. "Yes, sir…"

* * *

**Soooo? Was it awful? Should I just give up on it? NO WAY! I have too many wonderful readers! I can't even fathom disappointing them! As usual, reviews are always welcome! I'm very excited to write the next chapter. And as I've said, THERE IS A PLAN. This story IS going somewhere. I promise. It may take a couple chapters, but it is definitely going somewhere. I'll try to include some foreshadowing in the next chapter. **

**Alrighty, I shall see all of you next Friday! :D**


	4. The Sin and the Flame

**OH. MY. GLOB. Was my story really added to a community? That's so awesome! I finally feel like I belong! Haha ha... Sooo, I hope everyone enjoyed their week. I feel like I had something to say to all of you... Saying that I have the memory of a goldfish would be an insult to goldfish everywhere. It's sad how little I can remember. I guess if I rem- OH! IT CAME BACK TO ME! I wanted to tell all of you that I was working on a new cover for the story. I just love to draw and figured it'd be better to use my own artwork rather than something off the computer. So I should have that updated by the next chapter. **

**I'm almost certain that that was all I had to tell you so I guess it's time to get on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER IV**

**THE SIN AND THE FLAME**

"Sir, I'll be leaving now. I suggest you do the same soon." Riza stood by the door of Mustang's office, her eyes screaming for sleep. It had been a long day and every one of Mustang's crew had left as quickly as possible. Not to mention that the incident with Ed had them all on edge.

"Yes, lieutenant. I'm just going to check on Fullmetal and I'll be on my way." Roy stood up from his chair and stuck out his chest to stretch his back. He let out a sigh and smiled at the bright-eyed woman waiting by the door. "I'll see you in the morning, lieutenant." She returned the smile and let herself out, leaving the colonel alone in his office.

Roy sat back down in his chair and swiveled from side to side, hands clasped together and elbows resting on his knees. He looked at his almost clear desk and smiled in self-satisfaction. _'At least I got most of it done…'_ He thought happily to himself. He turned around in his chair to face the window and took in the Central night sky. With all the city lights, not a single star could be seen, but the moon shone brightly. It cast eerie shadows off the trees and plants surrounding Central Command.

A knock on the door snapped Roy out of his stare. A red-haired soldier poked his head in and looked around the room. "Colonel, we're going to begin locking up for the night. Would you like us to leave the hall light on for you?"

Roy slowly got up from his chair and collected his jacket off of the wooden coat hanger. He flipped the light switch in his office to off and stepped out into the hall with the soldier. "Has the infirmary been locked up yet?"

"No, sir."

Roy locked the doors to his office and started casually towards Ed's room. "Just leave the light on! I'll get it on my way out!" He called as he disappeared down the hall. His voice was unusually cheery. For having a day filled with paperwork and Scar's little surprise, the colonel was in a surprisingly good mood. He knocked on the white door leading into Ed's room and waited, expecting some sort of invitation in. When none was received, he knocked again, slightly irritated. "Fullmetal? You awake in there?"

Roy heard something shatter and smash onto the tiled floor and anger started to bubble up inside of him. _'Keep your cool, Roy. No need to rip the kid's ass for knocking over a glass,'_ He thought to calm himself down. "C'mon Fullmetal, let me in." Roy ordered, trying to 'keep his cool'.

A whispered curse from the other side of the door followed by a sound of footsteps running across the floor sent Roy into a panic. _'That was not Fullmetal…'_ Roy grabbed the door handle and turned it. _Locked._ "Dammit, Fullmetal, open this door right now! That's an order!" He slipped on his glove and transmuted the lock so it would open.

Roy threw his weight on the door and forced his way in only to find a soldier starting to climb out the window with Ed slung over his shoulder. "What the hell!?" Roy screamed. He looked around the room and noticed shards of a vase scattered across the floor, blood lining some of the shard's edges. Then he looked back to the soldier and Edward and, having lost his cool, went off. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SUBORDINATE!?"

The soldier stared at Roy blankly for a minute, then tilted his head back and broke out in laughter. While doing so, the soldier transformed into the pineapple-haired homunculus Envy. "Well, it's nice to see you, colonel! I honestly didn't expect you to force your way in here for the pipsqueak!" Envy stepped towards the window and started to make his way out. "I hate to leave so soon, but Father will be pissed if I'm late! Stay out of trouble, Flame Alchemist!"

"Get the hell back here, homunculus!" Roy called. _'Damn that kid! He just keeps getting his ass into more trouble!'_ Roy dove out the window and took off after Envy. The cold hit Mustang immediately, and he felt the sharpness of the air surge into his lungs. He couldn't let that slow him down though.

The chase continued for a good ways through Central. Albeit, Envy opted to stay on the main roads for whatever reason he had. And just as Roy would expect, the streets were empty. There wasn't a single person to help the colonel stop Envy. Mustang wasn't about to give up though. He kicked it into high gear and started to gain on the homunculus. Once he was close enough to Ed and Envy, the colonel snapped his fingers and lit up the night with his fire. It created a barrier straight in front of Envy, causing the homunculus to stop in his tracks.

"Put the boy down, homunculus," Roy demanded. An eerie shadow of Envy was cast over the colonel due to the light of his flame.

Envy looked around for an escape route. Unfortunately for him, tall apartment buildings towered to his right and a waterway flowed to his left. With the colonel's fire blocking the path behind him, Envy was trapped.

"Well hell, colonel; I only need the kid for a little while. Father just wants to meet his sacrifice; make sure the kid doesn't get himself killed, that's all."

_'Sacrifice?'_ The colonel pondered. He collected his thoughts and returned his focus to the problem at hand. "I said put – the – kid – down! I'm not going to say it again!"

Envy let out a small chuckle and let Ed roll off his shoulder carelessly. He fell to the ground with a thud that made Roy cringe. _'That had to hurt…'_

"Alright, colonel, we can play for a while," Envy taunted as he rolled his shoulders, a smirk appearing on his smug face. He slowly began his advance on Roy, hoping to elicit some sign of fear from the raven-haired colonel. But Roy had nerves of steel. He couldn't be scared that easily.

Envy rushed at Roy, the inside of his foot making contact with the colonel's ribcage. For such a lanky homunculus, Envy sure packed a powerful punch. He followed up with an intense blow to the colonel's nose, most definitely breaking it. The colonel countered with an attack of his own. While jumping back a safe distance from the homunculus, Roy hurriedly snapped his fingers and surrounded Envy in flames. They created a dancing, brilliant barrier: a rather remarkable sight to the passerby.

"You're trapped, homunculus," Roy stated bluntly. He glared at Envy, his stare burning a hole through the monster. The flames reflected off of his onyx eyes. This allowed for the Flame Alchemist to literally have fire in his eyes.

Envy nodded carelessly and looked around. After a moment of tense silence, he built up another rage of evil laughter. "You see, colonel, I'm a _homunculus_. Got that? We _homunculi_ are incredibly difficult to kill. But you know that already, don't you, colonel? Poor Lust never stood a chance against you. Hell-bent on revenge, you burned her to the ground! Repeatedly too! I'll say, colonel, I didn't think you had it in you."

Roy wasn't proud of himself for what he had done. He had nightmares of the woman burning. But she had it coming. She had gone after the first lieutenant, handicapped Jean Havoc, and was involved with the murder of Maes Hughes. She had deserved it, but Roy wasn't proud to say he was the one that dealt the justice.

"I think it's time we end this, colonel. I could toy with you a little more, but I really must be on my way. If you'll just head on home and forget all about this, I'll be taking the Fullmetal Pipsqueak and be on my way. Don't worry; I'll have him back to you first thing in the morning. No harm, no foul, right?"

Mustang growled at Envy as his anger took over. No longer was it a slow simmer on the back burner. Mustang's anger was now a full blown boil on the highest setting just begging to spill over the edge. Roy didn't handle taking orders from criminals too well. "I don't know just who you think you are, homunculus, but no _sin _is going to tell me what to do, understand? And you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to let you lay a hand on Fullmetal. Got that, homunculus!?"

"_Sin!? _Did you just call me a _sin!? _You've got a lot of nerve, Flame Boy! I'll show you _sin _alright!"

Apparently, Roy had pushed another button.

Envy shape-shifted his arm into a snake and shot it at the colonel. Too fast for him to dodge, the colonel was at the mercy of the homunculus. The snake wrapped around his neck and hands, thoroughly restraining him. Envy stepped out of the ring of flames and approached the colonel, stopping about a yard away. "Now you've gone and pissed me off, colonel."

Roy tried to snap his fingers, but Envy beat him to it. He took his free hand and pulled off the colonel's gloves. Without a transmutation circle, the colonel couldn't ignite the air and create his flames. He was defenseless.

The snake's grip tightened around Roy's neck, restricting his air supply. Envy laughed at the colonel's futile struggle. "You piss off one of us, you die. It's as simple as that," Envy whispered. He tightened his hold and threw back his head in laughter.

'_Damn, this really is the end of the line. Hawkeye's gonna have my ass for this. And I couldn't even save Fullmetal. If anything happens to that kid… I'm going to haunt every damn one of those homunculi…' _Roy concluded helplessly. His knees began to shake and he could hardly hold himself up any longer.

Ed, having momentarily awaked from his unconscious state, noticed the colonel was in trouble. "Colonel!" Ed screamed as he jumped to his feet. "Back off of him, Envy!" Mustering up the last of his strength, Edward threw all of his weight onto the homunculus and tackled him into the river.

Just as Roy was about to collapse from suffocation, Envy's grip loosened. It wasn't a gradual release either. All at once, air flowed into Roy's lungs and he was able to breathe again. He fell to his knees and gasped for air. Though he was thankful for the sudden release, he was still confused and rather dazed out, and had absolutely no idea what caused the homunculus to back off.

After a moment, Roy's mind finally caught up with the situation. "What the hell? Fullmetal!" Roy cried. He staggered to his feet and ran over to the shimmering water. His flames reflected off its surface, making it impossible to see into the dark liquid. _'Shit, shit, SHIT!'_ Roy stared at the water's surface, pleading with it to send up the young alchemist. He started to unbutton his jacket, knowing it would slow him down if he had to go in after him. The thin dress shirt was insufficient in keeping the cold from sending the colonel into shivers. Goosebumps appeared on his arms, but he hardly noticed them.

Roy had waited long enough. If Ed hadn't come up on his own yet, he wasn't going to any time soon. "DAMMIT, FULLMETAL!" Roy screamed as he readied himself to jump in. He threw his jacket behind him and ran right up to the edge. Just as the colonel was about to throw himself over the edge, a familiar green head popped out of the water.

"Just hold your horses, colonel," Envy said rather calmly. In a flash of gold, he threw Ed up into the air. He landed on the hard sidewalk with a similar, yet louder thud as before. "You're lucky the pipsqueak took one for the team. I wouldn't have had a problem with ending your meaningless life right then and there. But I had a nice, refreshing splash of water to cool me down so I guess you can live. I'm just going to collect the kid and be on my way."

Roy ran in front of Ed and stuck his hand out in front of him, a new glove covering the five-fingered form. "Stay the hell away from him!" Roy ordered ferociously. He snapped his fingers, setting Envy ablaze. He stopped after only one attack though.

Once Envy healed himself, he took a nervous step backwards. "Whoa now, colonel; just calm down."

"That was a warning shot, homunculus. Now get out of here before I repeat the performance I had with Lust." The anger was apparent even through his calm tone. Envy hesitated and Roy tensed his hand. "I said get the hell out of here!"

"Fine, I'm gone! But don't you forget this, colonel: I'm only retreating to devise the ultimate way to kill you." Envy jumped away and disappeared into the night, leaving that last comment for the colonel to think about. But Roy had something more important to deal with at the moment.

_'Fullmetal!'_ Roy thought furiously as he remembered the boy lying behind him. The colonel turned on his heels and knelt down next to Ed whom was on his hands and knees, coughing up a considerable amount of water. "Fullmetal, are you alright?" Roy asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

Edward was too busy hacking up his lung to respond to the colonel. As air went into his lungs, water came out almost endlessly. "C-colonel-" Ed attempted to start. His sentence was overtaken by the cough.

"You need to calm down, Fullmetal," Roy ordered quietly. _'Dammit, he's in really bad shape…'_

Finally, Ed's breathing mellowed out and he sat back. He took a deep breath and turned towards Roy. His golden eyes were, rather unexpectedly, filled with anger. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, BASTARD!?" He screamed abruptly.

Roy was taken aback by Ed's sudden anger. He was surprised even more so by the question. "What are you talking about, Fullmetal?"

Ed grabbed Roy's collar and got in his face. "The future Fuhrer of Amestris can't give up that damn easily! You were going to let yourself die! How could you be so selfish?!"

Roy blinked a few times and pushed Edward away. "I think you mistook _my plan_ as 'giving up'. I knew that if I passed out, that homunculus would've left me alone. Sure, he would've gotten away with your dumb ass, but he promised to bring you back in the morning. Honestly, I could've used the sleep but _no_! You just had to tackle him into the damn water! AND WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG DOWN THERE!?" By the end of his rant, Roy was a combination of pissed off and worried shitless.

Edward looked down and hid his eyes from Roy. "Nothing," He answered sullenly. A breeze passed in between the two and both of them shivered. Ed shook considerably more than Roy, being wet and all.

Roy sighed and stared at Edward. _'He won't tell me anything. If it's not 'none of your damn business' it's 'nothing'. I can't get a read on him. Why did he take so long down there? Why did Envy throw him out? He certainly wouldn't try to drown Ed. Apparently, he's important to the homunculi's plan and they aren't allowed to kill him…'_

Ed tried standing up, but his human leg buckled from his fatigue. He tried again, using up much more energy, yet ending with the same result. _'I'm way too tired to be dealing with the colonel's shit right now. He can give me his damn lecture on whatever I did wrong later. I don't have the energy to bite my tongue when he decides to piss me off. But he sure as hell isn't going to know how… how tired I am…'_ Ed's thoughts were broken off by a yawn and he shivered some from the wind.

Roy, feeling the breeze and seeing Ed shiver, leaned over and grabbed his jacket. He handed it to Ed who quickly denied it. "C'mon, Fullmetal; it's cold out and you're soaked to the bone. You're going to catch pneumonia so just take the stupid jacket."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ed nodded and took the jacket out of Mustang's hand. He gratefully slipped it on and relished the added warmth. "T-t-thanks…" Ed said through chattering teeth.

Roy stood up and helped Ed to his feet. He looked to his left as the realization hit him. _'The military housing is all the way on the other side of Central…'_ Roy turned to the right and nodded. "C'mon, Fullmetal." He grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and gently pulled him forward.

"You're going the wrong way, moron," Ed hissed. He struggled out of Roy's hold and started to go the opposite direction. _'Idiot doesn't even know where the dorms are.'_

Roy rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Ed's jacket. "Your dorm is too far away. We need to get you out of the cold as soon as possible. You're coming to my house; it's just down the street from here."

"Like hell I am. I can take care of myself," Ed retorted. He struggled out of Roy's jacket and grasp again.

"Really? You really think you can make it all the way across central on your own? You can hardly stay standing, let alone walk across an entire city. And you call me selfish. What happens if you get sick and die because you were out in this weather too long? Huh? What would Alphonse do without you?"

Ed stopped and growled under his breath. _'Damn colonel has a point…'_ Ed sighed and looked over his shoulder. Roy waited with a cocky grin and jacket in hand. Ed rolled his eyes and snatched the colonel's jacket. "Fine, whatever…"

"Good, now let's go." Roy started for his house slowly; making sure Ed could keep up. He stopped when a memory flashed across his mind. _'That bloody vase…'_ Roy turned around and looked at Ed who was walking with his head down. "Hey, Fullmetal, how'd that Envy homunculus knock you out?"

Ed rubbed the back of his head and picked up the pace. _'That bastard would take me to the hospital if I told him Envy smashed that vase over my head. That's one place I never want to be…'_ Ed looked up and plastered a mocking grin on his face. "I'm touched, colonel; you actually _care_ about me."

"I simply want to know how the _great_ Fullmetal Alchemist was defeated by such a weak character like Envy," Roy responded sarcastically. He saw Ed shiver and watched as the young alchemist stumbled over his own feet. Roy sighed and looked to the path ahead. _'But you can tell me about it tomorrow…'_

* * *

**Alllllrighty! So I put a little foreshadowing in this chapter as promised. And as always, any and all reviews are welcome. I'd really like to know how I'm doing. I'd like to personally thank all of my followers, favoriters, and reviewers! You guys rock my socks! **

**Until next Friday, mis amigos!**


	5. The Mouse in His Pocket

**Hello again, all of my friends. Well, this week wasn't as good as the last. My parents put the infamous For Sale sign in our yard. Moving far away again. So that was a real downer. But I had some really good friends to help cheer me up which is why this week's chapter is dedicated to my new friend, _Half Demon Alchemist_. She really made my week better and I thank her for that. **

**By the way, I updated the cover. Yeah, it looks like hell but I'll use it anyways.**

**Same drill as chapter three: middle section begins in a dream. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER V**

**THE MOUSE IN HIS POCKET**

Roy stumbled into his bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas. He rested his head on the cool pillow and pulled the thick blanket up to his neck. Fatigue plagued him, but his mind was on overdrive. The colonel would be lucky if he got any sleep that night. He had so many questions left unanswered, and his imagination sure wouldn't mind filling in its own answers.

_'Fullmetal started to get a fever when he went to bed… Maybe I should take him to the hospital. If he isn't any better tomorrow, that's what I'll do. Wait… why do I have to take him? He can take care of himself. But I know he'd let himself die before going to a hospital on his own will. Why the hell does that brat have to be so stubborn? I'm going to have to knock him out to take him… Speaking of which, he has some explaining to do when he wakes up. I know damn well that homunculus did something dirty to kidnap him.' _

Roy sighed and rolled onto his side. He stared out at the city with its tall, drab buildings and light pollution. Sometimes, you want to see more than the occasional apartment light through all that darkness. Sometimes, Roy wished more stars were visible at night. And sometimes, the colonel didn't really care either.

_'I wonder if he'll have another nightmare tonight. I wish he'd tell me what that first one was about. But if I ask him about it, I'll get the same 'it's none of your damn business'. Like hell it isn't. I have to take care of his sorry ass. I deserve an explanation. Then again, I guess he did save me. But what the hell took him so long in that damn river!?'_

Roy's mind was in a fury. He hated being left in the dark, especially when it's one of his subordinates. He flipped over in his bed again and looked at his clock. Strands of black hair fell over his eyes, making it a bit more difficult to see the blue alarm clock. However, the red, digital numbers still managed to torment him with the time. Somehow, it was only around midnight. He still had six hours of sleepless torture to endure.

'_Maybe I'm thinking into this too much. Maybe there's nothing to explain. It still wouldn't hurt to ask him. But that's a job for the morning.'_ Roy sighed again and buried his head deeper into the pillow. _'I'd better get to sleep. The lieutenant will have my ass if I come in looking exhausted.'_ Roy smiled at the thought of Riza, and, ever so slowly, the colonel drifted into a dreamless sleep.

…

_Edward stared at the man before him with mouth wide open. He hated the resemblance he bore to that man. He hated the same blonde hair and he hated the same skin complexion. But he hated the eyes the most. He would've given anything to have his mother's eyes. But no, he was given the same fiery, gold eyes as the man before him._

_ "Tell me, Edward, what possessed you to burn down my home?" Each word cut through Ed's memory like a knife. His words were just as cold as he remembered._

_ After a brief moment to collect his thoughts, Ed gave his answer. "After what happened, we vowed to never turn back. We did it as a symbol of our resolve-"_

_ "No you didn't," Hohenheim interrupted sharply. "You were hiding the memory. You didn't want to be reminded of what you've done and thought you could erase the memory by destroying the evidence." His voice was accusing and tore through Ed's very being. What right did this bastard have to say he was coward?_

_ "You… You're wrong!" Ed protested. He shook his head to make the figure in front of him disappear. When he opened his eyes, everything was fading away. The cemetery in the background faded into the lush grass and blue skies. All that was left was a colorful smudge with Hohenheim as the focal point. He contrasted sharply with the blurred image. And Ed would've been able to handle it had it not been for those eyes. Those bright, golden eyes…_

_ "You ran away, and you know it." His words echoed, playing over and over again in Ed's mind. "You ran away and you know it. You ran away and you know it. You ran away and you know it…" _

Ed's eyes shot open, light pouring into his vision. Sweat trickled down his forehead, soaking any strands of hair that may have come in contact with his face. His heart was practically pounding out of his chest, the quick thumping beating in his eardrums. Everything was happening so fast and he was so tired. His head felt light and fuzzy, and his hands were shaking. Sure he was usually in pretty bad shape after a nightmare, but this, this was different.

Blurred images of the previous night's events mixed with the tormenting vivid images of the dream. They flashed across Ed's mind, leaving him little room to think and rationalize what was happening. First it was a picture of Envy, then Hohenheim. Roy would follow, and there would be a river, and, eventually it ended with the vase. The image of the vase dripping with his own blood brought Ed back to reality. His mind finally sorted out the pictures; placing them in the order from hence they occurred. Unfortunately, with the clarification came the pain.

The back of Ed's head burned like Mustang's fire. His nightmare induced sweat trickled into the wound, salt mixing with dried blood. Why did everything hurt worse when there was an injury to your head? But it wasn't just the cut causing Ed's pain. He had an excruciating headache to compliment it. The pressure in his head was intense. Ed would've put money on it that his brain was bursting at the seams of his skull. He wanted to moan, but his throat was scratchy and dry. That wasn't even the worst of it.

Ed was hot and cold all at the same time. He was either so cold that he felt hot, or he was so hot that he felt cold. He couldn't distinguish it. But that wasn't all. _'Where the hell am I?' _Ed wondered nervously. His memory cut off right after Mustang yelled at him for taking so long in the river. _'I'm definitely not in my dorm…' _Ed realized. He looked around, ignoring the pain in his head. There was only one window, its woodwork matching that of the armoire and bed. The sheets, rather than being white, were a light blue. They complimented the deep, mesmerizing navy walls. _'Same damn color as the military uniforms.' _

"Get your lazy ass out of bed, Fullmetal! It's time for work!" Roy's oh so familiar voice called. It was just the right thing to snap Ed out of his thoughts.

"Colonel?" Ed asked, sounding slightly more surprised than he would have liked.

"Who the hell else would it be?" Roy snapped as he pushed his way into the room. The irritated look on his face was replaced with a more concerned one. _'Dammit, he looks even worse today. I guess I didn't get him out of the weather quick enough.'_

"Where am I?" Ed questioned abruptly. He forced himself to sit up despite his protesting headache.

Roy blinked a few times. "Same place as last night," He answered snidely. _'I can't believe he thinks I'd move him.'_

Ed rolled his eyes and sighed. "Honestly, don't you think that if I could remember where I was last night, I'd know whether or not I was in the same place the following morning?"

"You're at my house, smart-ass. Remember? You were shaking like a damn leaf because you were too much of a baby to handle the cold."

Ed growled at Mustang and swung his feet over the side of the bed. He just realized the clothes he was wearing weren't his. "Where are my clothes?"

Roy threw the bundle of Ed's clothes in the teen's lap and laughed. "Don't you remember anything from last night? You were sopping wet so I gave you some of my clothes to wear. C'mon, you don't remember any of it?"

"No, so get out of my face!" Ed snapped. He stood up to get dressed, but his body had other plans. He suddenly felt tired, and the pissing contest with the colonel wasn't helping.

Roy noticed Ed's tired physique, and felt he had given the kid enough grief. "How do you feel?" Roy asked quietly.

"Just fine," Ed lied. He pulled on his own shirt and swapped the baggy sweats for his own leather pants. He managed to get completely dressed while sitting for the most part. After pulling on his red jacket and braiding his hair, he decided to make another attempt at standing.

Roy started for Ed to help, but stopped short when the young alchemist shot him a death glare. _'Wow, I really pissed him off. Ungrateful, short, smart-mouthed, stubborn-" _Mustang cut his silent rant short when Ed began to cough. "Hey, take it easy, Fullmetal."

Ed rolled his eyes and carefully got to his feet, a tad unsteady at first. He soon leveled out and started for the door, making sure to bump into Mustang as he passed by. _'Just what I wanted to do, get a ride to work from the colonel…' _Ed thought bitterly. He took in a deep, raspy breath and pulled the door open.

Roy watched nervously as Ed trudged past. His limp from the fight with Scar hadn't gone completely away and he was definitely just as pale, if not more so. "Fullmetal…" Roy started. He didn't think it would be smart to go on another assignment just after last night's incident. _'And he still has some questions to answer.' _A smile crept across Roy's face as an idea formed in his mind. "We can go… _after _we have some breakfast."

Ed was ready to protest when his stomach decided otherwise. It let out a long growl, advertising the teen's hunger. Remembering he hadn't eaten a single thing the other day, Ed nodded in defeat. "Yeah, okay…"

Roy let another smile form on his face from the victory. _'Quickest way to get a stubborn alchemist to cooperate: food.' _

…

"Alright, you have some explaining to do," Mustang announced as he pushed the lever on the toaster down. It's shiny, aluminum exterior was still hot from the last piece he managed to burn, and so the colonel took extra care to avoid coming into contact with it.

Ed steeled himself for the lecture that was sure to come and choked down another bite of toast as he waited. The burnt bread was dry and unsatisfying, but Ed would take what he could get.

_'What should I ask him first…?' _Roy mused. His face was scrunched up in deep contemplation and his eyes were fixed on the toaster. Only when a second round of smoke rose from the inferno did he snap out of his thoughts. He grabbed the blackened slice of bread and hurriedly threw it on his plate. "Shit, that's hot!" He yelped.

Ed shook his head in response to the colonel's clumsiness and continued with his own meal. _'You'd think he could handle a little heat being the Flame Alchemist and all.'_

After taking his seat in front of Ed and slathering an impressive amount of jam on his toast, Roy leaned forward with a straight face. _'I need something to break the ice. Just something to get him to start talking…' _Roy took a deep breath and began. "First I want you to tell me about what happened with Scar."

"I already told you; we fought, he tried to kill me, I used your pen to blind him and then I made a run for it! I'm telling you, nothing else happened!" Ed explained it frantically, as if Roy was accusing him of something.

"Okay, okay, no need to get your braid into knots. Well, what happened with Envy? How was he able to kidnap you?" Roy asked his questions slowly but confidently. He was quite charismatic and knew how to get what he wanted.

Ed took another bite of his toast. "He smashed that ugly vase over my head," He answered. His tone indicated it wasn't a big deal, but it didn't translate well to Roy.

"Damn… he must've hit you pretty hard then."

"I was still out of it from those damn pills! He's just lucky Scar got to me first!" Ed defended himself. Another coughing fit wracked his body and he calmed himself down. _'I feel like hell…' _Ed whined silently.

Roy stood up and walked over to Ed. With a bit of a struggle from the young boy, he managed to pull his braid up and examine the wound. "Dammit, Fullmetal, I wish you would've told me about this sooner." Roy walked over to one of his cupboards and starting digging through it. _'He's probably going to get an infection and then he'll be even sicker and I'll have to take care of his dumb ass…' _Roy found the small first-aid kit and tossed it to Ed. "Put some disinfectant on it and a bandage."

Ed steamed from the colonel's orders but complied anyways. While Roy cleaned up the kitchen, Ed patched himself up. After the quick few minutes, they were ready and heading out the door. _'I'll have to ask him the rest of my questions on the ride up,' _Roy realized. He gathered his coat and let Ed out first so he could lock the door behind him.

As Ed walked out the door and towards Roy's car, he got a good look at the house. "Where'd you come up with the money for a place like this?"

Roy hesitated with his answer. _'I was rewarded for something awful. If anything, I should've been sent to the firing squad for what I did in Ishval… but instead, I was given a huge sum of money and this giant reminder of my ignorance…' _

Ed whistled and waved his hand in front of Roy's eyes. "Hey, colonel, we're going to be late if you keep zoning out like that!"

"Right…" Roy responded dully. The two got into his car and took off for Central Command. _'Now I can really get some answers out of him. Nowhere to run and plenty of time to get the truth.'_

Ed propped his elbow on the passenger side door and rested his head in his hand. He stared out the window at the ever-changing scenery and sighed. It was such a beautiful day out. Unlike yesterday with its overcast skies and occasional drizzle of rain, the weather today was bright and sunny. It was still chilly out, but that could be overlooked easily. Unfortunately, not even the pleasant weather could keep Ed from becoming dizzy. He had to move his gaze away from the window to keep himself from hurling all over Mustang's car.

"Fullmetal," Roy began, his voice as steady as ever. "You still haven't told me why you took so long in the canal. And don't even say Envy was holding you down. I know the homunculi aren't allowed to kill you."

_'Oh shit… what do I tell him…?' _Ed's mind began to race to think of a reasonable lie. He started to sweat when he realized there was no way around the colonel's question. He finally answered with the only thing he could think of. "None of your d-"

"Yeah yeah, none of my damn business. I know. You've already tried that one. Now I want a real answer."

Ed crossed his arms and let out a humph. "I don't have to answer that."

"Dammit, Fullmetal, I _will_ court martial you!" Roy threatened. _'I'm sick of his damn games! He's lucky I didn't leave him out in the cold last night! And this is how that brat thanks me… won't even answer one stupid question.'_

Ed paused. He _really _didn't want to explain it to the colonel. _'I can't tell that bastard. The minute it slips out of my lips he'll have a million jokes to laugh about. Like it's not bad enough he's always calling me short…'_

"I'm waiting," Roy informed, annoyance lacing his tone.

"I…" Ed started. He took in a deep breath and readied himself for the never-ending insults that were to come. "I can't swim!" He choked out as fast as he possibly could. "I was never a strong swimmer to begin with and with the automail weighing me down…" He added quietly. His quiet attitude quickly changed and he became extremely nervous and embarrassed. He scrunched his face up and shut his eyes as if expecting a punch to come from the colonel, more or less in the form of a firing squad of insults.

Roy did a mental face palm and let out a small laugh. _'I don't know why I didn't think of that. It's the only reasonable explanation. And his automail weighs him down too so he can't even float… I guess I just never thought of Ed as having a weakness like that…'_

"What the hell are _you _laughing at!?" Ed screamed. His face was a bright red from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. As they came up on a red light, Ed briefly considered storming out of the car and walking the rest of the way. He decided against it when he remembered how tired he was. It felt like he hadn't slept in days, and he could muster up enough energy to tune out the colonel's insults for now.

Roy's laughter died down as his thoughts continued. _'He couldn't swim… And yet, he threw himself and Envy into the river… to save me! He risked his own life… just to save mine…' _Roy's hands tightened on the steering wheel and he stared at the road ahead of him. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't want to give you anything more to insult me with," Ed joked. He noticed the colonel tense up and became a bit nervous himself. _'What's that bastard so angry about…?' _Ed wondered anxiously.

"You could have died!" Roy scolded. So many thoughts were swimming through his mind; he wasn't sure what to do at that point.

"I figured _one _of you would've fished me out. It's not that big of a deal. Just let it go."

The light changed green and Roy stepped on the accelerator. He hadn't actually meant to slam on it as hard as he did, but it felt good to relieve his anger. The force did, however, slam Ed's head against the seat, further agitating his headache.

"Would you calm the hell down!?" Ed yelled. He rubbed the back of his head and shot Roy another death glare.

Roy noticed Ed rubbing his head and felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry…" He whispered, all traces of anger gone from his voice.

"It was just instinct, you know?" Ed admitted in a small voice. "It seemed like the only thing to do at the time."

_'Wow, I really am an ass. He was afraid that I would insult him over it. But this is different from being short… which I do tease him about… a lot… No wonder he didn't want to tell me.' _Roy looked over at Ed and felt more guilt run through him. Ed didn't look too good. He'd broken off into another coughing fit and his cheeks were flushed. "How opposed are you to seeing a doctor?"

Ed finished his coughing fit and shook his head. "No doctors. If Al finds out I went to the doctor, he'll never leave me alone again. Not that I don't love being with him all the time, I just need some personal space, that's all."

"We have to do something about that cough. And I'm pretty sure you have a fever so we'll need to take care of that as well."

Ed tilted his head at the colonel and raised an eyebrow. "_We_? Do I have a mouse in my pocket? I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"You didn't even take care of that injury on your head. I have no reason to believe that you can _take care of yourself_. So I hate to tell you, but you're stuck with me. We can stop by the pharmacy and pick something up. And you're staying in my office for the day too. Without Al around, Scar has a better chance of killing your dumb ass."

Ed crossed his arms and sunk further into the car seat. _'Who does this bastard think he is? I don't need anyone, especially him, to take care of me. Dammit, today is going to suck. I have to spend the whole day cooped up in Mustang's office doing paperwork when I could be doing research! Mustang is going to pay for this…'_

* * *

**Alrighty, same drill as usual. If there's anything wrong or if I need to change anything, just give me a shout. If you want to tell me I'm doing a shitty job, that's cool too. It'll just play into how the rest of my week has been. If you'd like to tell me I'm doing good, that'd be okay as well.**

**I'll be seeing all of you next Friday. Hopefully I'll be a little happier by then! **


	6. The Sin's Return

**Well hello, my friends! It's good to be back! I was excited about this chapter because it's exactly 3,500 words (not including my little ramblings)! Kinda a stupid thing to be excited about but meh, why not? So is anyone else super excited for Iron Man 3? I know I'm dying with anticipation! Okay, I don't have much to say this week so we'll just get on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

* * *

**CHAPTER VI**

**THE SIN'S RETURN**

"Sir." Riza stood attentively by the door to Mustang's office, waiting as Roy and Ed approached. "You're late, sir." She stole a quick glance at Ed who was trudging along behind Roy with his head down. "Uh… good morning, Edward."

"Morning…" Ed mumbled as he brushed past her. He immediately flopped onto his favorite couch as soon as he entered the office.

"Sir, what's Edward doing here?" Riza questioned, curiosity rising in her voice. "We weren't expecting him to come in today."

Roy let out a moan when the pile of paperwork on his desk came into view. He flopped in his own chair and picked up his pen. "I don't have any new assignments for him so I figured I'd put him to work with some of these god damn files." Roy saw Ed look up in shock and couldn't help but smile. _'And he thought I was going to tell all of them about what happened. Let's just hope the lieutenant believes me…'_

"Yes, sir." Riza handed a stack of files and a pen to Ed. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Ed muttered sarcastically. He flipped one of them open and began his work, unaware that he was getting stares from everyone in the office.

"This is weird…" Havoc whispered to Breda. He also looked over to Falman who nodded in agreement. "They aren't yelling or cussing each other out or anything."

"I've never seen Fullmetal so _quiet,_" Breda commented in awe. He absentmindedly signed a few reports while continuing the conversation.

"And shouldn't he be in the library or something? That's where he always goes when the colonel doesn't have any work for him," Falman added.

Havoc shuffled a few papers around to make it appear like he was working. It was pointless though: Mustang could see right through his subordinates.

"Would you ladies stop your gossiping and get back to work!" Roy shouted. He slammed his fist on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. _'It's like working with a bunch of school girls! All they do is gossip! And they're so loud too! I can't get five minutes of peace and quiet…' _Ed broke out into another coughing fit, snapping Roy out of his thoughts. He had thrown his hand over his mouth to try to subdue the cough but had no luck. _'He's getting worse. Maybe I need to take him to a doctor anyways…'_

"Maybe you should get something to drink, chief," Havoc quietly suggested. "I hear they're serving hot chocolate in the cafeteria today." Havoc rolled over to Ed and placed some change in his hand. "You wouldn't mind getting me a cup too, would you?"

Ed grumbled and stood up, nearly losing his balance in the process. "Now I'm their damn slave…" He cursed under his breath. No one could hear him but it felt nice to let it out. "Thanks, Havoc," Ed said a little louder as he traipsed out the door.

Once Ed was safely out of earshot, Mustang's gang flooded Roy with questions. "What's going on, colonel? What's the matter with Ed?" Fuery questioned. He looked at Roy eagerly with his big eyes.

"Yeah, what's up with you two?" Havoc pried. He started digging around his pockets for his cigarettes and lighter.

"Why'd he come in to work with you? Did something happen?" Breda pushed.

"Sir, it'd be much easier if you'd just answer the questions," Riza informed.

Roy glared at all of his subordinates and let out a small growl of anger. "Fine! I'll tell you! Then will you get back to work!?"

"Yes, sir!" All of them saluted in unison.

_'I need a lie and quick. I can't tell them about the homunculi. Only Havoc and Hawkeye know about them… Ugh, that little pipsqueak is really making my day harder than it should be…' _Roy drew in a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "Fullmetal developed a fever due to complications from the injuries he attainted from his run in with Scar. He was too ill to be left alone so he stayed the night at my house. I thought it would be best for him to stay within sight for today so I know he doesn't get himself killed while being sick. Are you all happy now?"

The crew, looking a bit disappointed from the obviously lame explanation, returned to their duties without another word.

Mustang sighed and started filling out the paperwork again. _'Nosy bunch of gossiping girls… Where the hell is F-'_

Without warning, all the glass in Mustang's office shattered in an explosion. Shards of broken glass showered all over the room like sparkling, sharp rain. The crew let out a cry of terror and ducked for cover while covering their heads in case of another attack. Mustang ducked behind his desk with Hawkeye who had her gun ready. When the attack ceased and the dust settled, Hawkeye and Mustang were ready to jump into action. However, a slow-growing, wicked laugh stopped them in their tracks.

"Who's out there!?" Roy demanded. He pulled his glove on and poised his fingers to snap.

A small, black canister rolled into the room and burst open, releasing an ominous yellow gas.

"I already told you, colonel, I only retreated to devise my plan to kill you. I have a friend who would _love _to end your pitiful life. As we speak, my own special concoction is knocking out your entire team. No one to save you today…"

_'Envy!' _Mustang realized. He jumped to his feet only to have the room spin and topple around him. Roy managed to find the energy to focus his vision and look around the room. In the brief moment he could see, Roy found he didn't like the situation. Breda and Fuery were already unconscious and leaning against each other, Falman was trying his hardest to stay awake but soon collapsed as well, Havoc's head was resting on the back of his wheelchair, his eyes closed, and Hawkeye was desperately trying to stand.

"I'm… sorry…" Riza moaned with a cough. The yellow gas consumed her and she collapsed to the ground, gun still in hand.

Roy tried taking a step forward but stumbled and fell to his knees. His vision blurred but he managed to see a green figure appear before him. "You… bastard…" Roy snarled before all his energy left him. He collapsed into a heap on the ground and his mind went dark.

"I told you I was coming back…" Envy growled quietly. "This _sin _has a bone to pick with you."

…

_'How the hell did I get dragged into doing paperwork AND being their slave!? I'll kick that Mustang's ass for keeping me locked in his office all day. I could be doing so much research right now… Uhh… my damn head…' _Ed wanted to grab at his head so bad but his hands were full, a cup of hot chocolate in each.

On his way back to Mustang's office, Ed heard a rather unnerving explosion come from that direction. _'Great! Someone pissed the great and almighty Flame Alchemist off and now he's blown something up! I wish Al and Winry would get back soon. Then I wouldn't have to put up with Mustang's shit. And who the hell told him he could care about me!? I can take care of myself… bastard…'_

Ed picked up his pace a bit and quickly approached Mustang's office. He heard the shouting of Mustang's crew and dropped the hot chocolate as he took off in a sprint. He left chocolate footprints all down the hall and right up to Roy's office.

Ed burst through the door to find Envy dragging Mustang across the ground by his jacket. "What the hell are you doing, Envy!?" Ed screamed. He clapped his hands and transmuted his blade, ready for a fight.

An evil smile crept onto Envy's face. "Not so fast, pipsqueak." He shape shifted his arm into a long blade and made his way towards Ed. "I originally came here just for the colonel, but I could kill two birds with one stone and take you two. And just as a reminder, pipsqueak, you owe me for saving your life. So, just as a suggestion, make this easier on both of us and don't put up a fight. I really don't feel like regenerating today."

Ed growled and lunged at Envy. "I don't know what your damn problem is, but I'm not going anywhere with you!" Ed used his blade as a sword and swung at Envy. He would come within centimeters of that damn homunculus! But his fever and fatigue were making it difficult to keep up to par with the sin. Ed was lucky enough to leave a nice slice in Envy's side, but was unlucky when Envy decided to go on the offense.

"C'mon, pipsqueak!" Envy whined. He let out a sigh as Ed tried to attack again. "I really don't want to fight you! Father would melt me if I happened to accidentally kill you!" Envy just couldn't reason with Ed. The blonde kid just kept coming back for more. Every time Envy would knock Ed away, he'd stand right back up with even more fire in his eyes.

"I'd like to see you try to kill me!" Ed teased. He let out a small cough through his taunting smile and held his blade up in an act of defiance. _'I have to stop this bastard before he gets away with the colonel. Who knows what those homunculi are planning to do with him! And this could be a good chance to get some information… It'd be nice to know who this Father guy is, and maybe they know something on how to get our bodies back! All I have to do is get Envy contained…'_

With the heightened determination to get their bodies back, Ed gathered his focus and resumed his attacks. He landed a few good hits on Envy, and was really pleased when his blade penetrated the homunculus' stomach.

Envy doubled over in pain from the attack and stepped away. "DAMN YOU, PIPSQUEAK! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Envy regrouped himself and stabbed his arm/blade into Ed's automail arm and through the wall. He had pinned Ed to the wall and laughed as Ed struggled in the hold. "I'm about sick of you, you annoying little mouse!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A MOUSE!?" Ed screamed. He still managed to get angry even in the not-so-good situation of his.

Envy thrust his knee into Ed's stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. He then stomped on Ed's human foot and kicked him in his flesh knee. "I didn't come here looking for a fight, pipsqueak, but now you've _really _pissed me off and I'm not feeling very merciful." Envy's head collided with Ed's causing his to slam back onto the hard wall.

Ed felt the blood starting to trickle out of his reopened wound. _'I blame Mustang for this…'_

"And now to deal with that pesky arm!" Envy twisted his arm/blade around and smashed it in every direction.

"Get off of me, bastard!" Ed shouted, his voice clearly showing panic. _'He's going to break my automail!'_

The torture didn't last long before Envy was fed up. He pulled his blade out without completely destroying Ed's arm and sighed. "Well that's no good. I guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Ed's eyes widened as Envy approached. He tried moving his arm, but the mechanics were broken. It just fell limply to his side as dead weight. _'Shit… this doesn't look good.'_

Envy threw his head back and laughed to the sky. He was thoroughly surprised that no one had shown up to stop him yet. But he knew he didn't have much time left and he needed to end this quickly. But there was no way in hell he was leaving the pipsqueak behind.

"Alright, Fullmetal Pipsqueak, I'm going to give you _one _more chance to come along nicely. You won't have to go through any more pain and you won't piss me off anymore. So, will you come nicely or do I have to kick your ass again?"

Ed growled at the memory of the Fifth Laboratory. He hadn't been able to fight then too. But it had ultimately saved his life. _'Not this time. If he wants me, he's going to have to come get me!' _Ed steeled himself for the attack. _'It's worth it… if it means I can get information to get Al his body back. All the pain is worth it…'_

"So be it." Envy landed a well executed roundhouse kick to Ed's head, quickly knocking him to the ground. Ed's vision came in and out of focus as he lay on the ground, a small stream of blood draining from a new injury on his head. As much as he would've liked to stand back up, his mind couldn't send the order to his limbs. And even if it were able to, he was too tired to move.

Envy cracked his knuckles and knelt down next to Ed. "Aw, the poor pipsqueak is too weak to move!" He pulled Ed's head up by his braid and plastered a sadistic grin on his face. "Give up yet?"

Ed plastered his own grin on his face, and stared at the homunculus with a newfound energy. Ed somehow found the strength to kick off of Envy's stomach and jump out of reach of the beast. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he pushed off like a rocket and lunged at Envy in one final attempt to conquer the creature. Holding up his automail blade with his good hand, Ed shot himself in Envy's direction. The metal glistened in the sun right before it entered the homunculus.

"PIPSQUEAK!" Envy wailed. He grabbed Ed by the jacket and pulled him away, tearing the blade out in the process. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Envy slammed his knee into Ed's face and threw him into the wall. Considering the fact that Envy was thoroughly pissed by this point, Ed didn't stand a chance when he hit the wall. He smashed into it so hard that it left a dent.

Ed slid to the ground, leaving a bloody streak on the badly-damaged wall. He could only take in short breaths from the pain of his ribs prodding at his insides. And to make matters worse, Envy had decided that that wasn't enough.

Envy approached with his head down. He regenerated his body around the stab wound as he slowly made his way towards Ed. Once he was finally hovering over the bloody mess, his cold eyes gradually moved to meet Ed's.

The cold stare sent shivers down Ed's spine. _'This is gonna hurt…' _was all he could think before the inevitable occurred.

Envy, as lanky as he was, somehow had one of the most powerful punches Ed had come to know. But what was truly impressive was the homunculus' kick. Ed braced himself as Envy's foot drew back and then swiftly collided with his head. Ed didn't even have time to feel the pain before he was knocked unconscious by the vicious blow to the head.

Envy smiled to himself, satisfied with the work he had done. He was now in possession of two state alchemists, something even Lust could have been jealous of. Envy looked around the destroyed room and kicked some broken glass with his foot. "Now I just need to get the hell outta here before someone realizes what's going on…" Envy thought aloud. He risked a quick peek in the hall and smiled when his eyes caught sight of an unmonitored janitor's cart. "Perfect…" Envy whispered. An evil plan had begun to develop in his mind.

…

"What the hell?!" An MP shrieked as he entered Mustang's office. His bright blonde hair shot straight up at the sight of all the unconscious military personnel. "What do I do!? What do I do!?" He chanted frantically. Carefully, he stepped around the blood and broken glass and made his way towards Riza. When he was close enough, the MP knelt down and began shaking her lightly. "First Lieutenant…?" He urged anxiously.

All at once, Riza's senses came flooding back to her. She jumped off of the cold ground and immediately aimed her gun at the MP. "Where's the colonel!?" She demanded, her voice harsh.

The MP put his hands up defensively and shook his head. "I don't know! I heard some shouting but thought it may have been because of that Fullmetal kid because he always gets into a fight with the colonel when he comes by but then I heard some banging a while later and figured I should check it out! That's when I found this mess!" The MP explained in a frenzy, clearly frightened by the gun pointed at his head.

Riza lowered her weapon and nodded. She scanned the room and felt somewhat relieved when the rest of the crew began waking up. "Are any of you injured?" She asked, her voice calm.

"Ugh…" Breda moaned as he stretched his back. "_That _was unexpected!" He roared, barely noticing the mess surrounding him.

"What the hell was _that_?" Havoc questioned. He looked around the room and his jaw dropped to the floor. Shattered glass and metallic blood coated the floor, making it nearly impossible to walk without stepping in _something_.

Fuery rubbed his eyes and nodded in response to Riza's question. "I think we're all okay. But… where's the colonel?"

Riza collected her thoughts and tried to remember what had happened before she blacked out. A growing sense of concern began to rise within her as she remembered what Envy had said. _'I already told you, colonel, I only retreated to devise my plan to kill you. I have a friend who would love to end your pitiful life. As we speak, my own special concoction is knocking out your entire team. No one to save you today…'_

"Oh no…" Falman voiced quietly, effectively dragging Hawkeye out of her thoughts and gaining the attention of the room's occupants.

"What is it?" Havoc asked. He rolled over to Falman, the wheels of his wheelchair crunching the glass the entire way.

Falman pulled a piece of red fabric out of a hold in the wall and examined it. "Have we heard from Fullmetal since you sent him to the cafeteria?"

"Do you think something happened to Ed?" Havoc asked more anxiously. Falman hesitated, still examining the shred of material.

"What are you getting at, Falman?" Riza snapped, her steady tone breaking for just a second.

Falman held up the piece of fabric and frowned. "I think something happened to Fullmetal as well… This is definitely a piece of his jacket. It looks like it was torn so I wouldn't be surprised if most of this blood is his."

"Someone kidnapped them," Riza informed. "They can't be too far," She added as she bent over and swiped her finger in a small pool of blood. "It hasn't dried yet so whoever did this couldn't have gotten too far yet. We'll need to get a search party ready right away."

"Who do you think would do this? I mean, who would take the colonel _and _Fullmetal?" Breda wondered to the group. None of them had an answer to that question.

Riza stared out of the opening that used to be a window. It was still particularly early in the morning so not too many people were out in the streets yet. "It doesn't matter right now who did it. All that matters is we find them as soon as possible. The longer they're missing, the less likely it is we'll find them."

With Hawkeye at the lead, Mustang's crew and a few other MPs began drawing up plans and forming a search party. None of them noticed when an average janitor loaded his truck out front with his cart and mop bucket. And none of them noticed when he drove out of Central Command without being stopped by the guards, free to drive as far away as he pleases. None of them realized that the people they were looking for had just been slipped right out of their hands, and were now being taken to God only knows where.

Roy and Ed were now at the mercy of Envy, a homunculus who did not know how to act with such thing. Envy had promised Mustang death, and had thoroughly beaten the shit out of Ed. Any hope at saving them now was quickly dwindling, but there was no chance in hell that the lieutenant was going to let either one of them die. They each had promises to keep, and had no right to not see them through. Riza and the rest of Mustang's crew would make sure of that.

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**I hope it wasn't too bad ha-ha. I try, I really do. If you'd like to review, that'd be fantastic! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Until next Friday, my comrades.**


	7. The Painful Awakening

**Aight, you guys. Because I'm feeling _so_ damn generous today, I'll update a little sooner. That's only because I just happened to have this chapter done, it's a small chapter, a good friend asked me to update earlier, and I know it'll piss off one of my friends from school because they only expect updates on Fridays. :D And I figured that this would make the few wonderful individuals that read my cruddy story a little happier, which I always like to do. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER VII**

**THE PAINFUL AWAKENING**

"Uhn…" Roy moaned, sitting up on the hard, wooden floor. "What the…?" He groaned, feeling a cold, metal constraint clasped around his wrists. "Handcuffs?"

"Ah, colonel, it's good to see you awake. Did you enjoy your little nap?" Envy inquired, sarcastically sympathetic. He sat with one leg crossed over the other in an old rocking chair that creaked with each movement. The sun-worn, unfinished look of the chair matched the rest of the surroundings.

Roy sat in a dingy room that was covered in dust and cobwebs. The walls were the same, faded wood as the floors and there was only one window in the entire room. You couldn't really see out of the glass because of the thick layer of dust, but sunlight still fought its way through. Roy figured it must've been around midday, so he hadn't been out too long.

"Where am I?" Roy growled. He watched the homunculus rock back and forth and tried to contain his anger. When he didn't receive an answer, his anger came to the surface. "_I said_, where the hell am I!?"

Envy continued his rocking without being phased. "I can't tell you the location. But, I _can _tell you that it doesn't matter. No one can save you." Envy paused from his speech and looked to the far end of the room. He stared at the door blankly in deep thought for a good minute before speaking up again. "I actually have a favor to ask of you, colonel."

Roy laughed and leaned against the wall, his hands resting in his lap. "What makes you think I'd help _you_?" He spat, disgust lacing his every word.

Envy put on an evil grin and stood up from his chair. "You'll do as I say, colonel, because I know you wouldn't want your prodigy to die."

'_Prodigy? What's he talking about? He can't be referring to…' _Roy shook the negative thoughts out of his mind and regained his composure. He didn't want to think the worst. Not yet anyways. While pushing the negative thoughts down into the deep recesses of his mind, Roy shifted his weight to get a better view of Envy traipsing towards the door.

"I think I _may_ have overdone it just a bit…" Envy muttered as he stepped into the hall. A moment later he returned, dragging Edward behind him. "I suppose I could've been a little less rough with him…"

"Fullmetal!" Roy shouted at the sight of the unconscious mess. Yep. His worst thoughts just became a reality. "What the hell did you do to him!?"

"It's his fault!" Envy snorted. He threw Ed into the middle of the room and slowly started for him. His footsteps caused the rickety floor to creak from the added weight. "He's the one who just waltzed into your office thinking he could save the day! I honestly only came to get your dumb ass, but I figured I might as well collect the pipsqueak while I'm at it." Envy stomped his foot onto Ed's automail arm and ground at the mechanics.

"Stay away from him!" Roy cried, feeling the guilt in his chest. _'He's going to get himself killed trying to save me again! Why does he have to keep getting himself into trouble!?'_

"Oh?" Envy pulled his foot up just an inch. "We aren't getting protective, are we, colonel?"

Roy glared at Envy. "Leave him the hell alone. Do what you will with me but just stay away from him."

Envy laughed like a madman and smashed his foot into Ed's automail again. His foot ground into the mechanics and bits started to snap and pop from the abuse. "You don't know how much I wish I _could_ beat the hell out of you, colonel! But I have been given strict orders to back off." Envy paused to focus on the task at hand. Then he continued with a whispered rant that Roy could hardly hear. "Although it's not like I'm not already disobeying orders…"

_'He's been ordered not to touch me… Who would give him an order like that? Is it that Father guy he was talking about last night…?' _The sound of Ed's automail snapping jerked Roy away from his thoughts and brought him back to the current situation.

Envy bent down and picked up the broken machinery. Wires and loose screws fell from busted components and scattered all over the floor. It looked like an automail wasteland with all the twisted and manipulated metal.

"Well, now that that's done…" Envy turned to face the colonel with a smile. He slung Ed's arm over his shoulder like it was a prize and started for the door. "I have to go pick up a friend. He's been _dying _to meet you. Check over the pipsqueak and make sure he doesn't die while I'm gone, alright?" Envy stopped right in front of the door and gave the colonel another cocky smile. "Don't even try to leave. It'll only make things worse for the both of you."

Roy didn't let his gaze move away from Envy's until the homunculus was well out of the room. Only when Roy felt he was safely alone with Ed did he let the panic inside him come to the surface. Roy scrambled to his feet, struggling a bit without the use of his hands, and rushed over to Ed. He dropped to his knees and took a deep breath. _'You have to stay calm, Mustang. If you get too worked up, you won't be able to do anything for him…' _For a moment, his eyes fixated on the purple and black bruise that was blooming on Ed's forehead. _'At least I know how he was knocked out…'_

Roy swept some of the broken metal out of his way and scooted closer to Ed. "C'mon, Fullmetal, you have to wake up," Roy ordered calmly. He shook Ed very lightly by the shoulders, hoping not to further cause him any more injury.

The blonde grunted and adjusted himself. "Not now, Al, I'm trying to sleep…" Ed mumbled, oblivious to the situation.

Roy rolled his eyes and shook Ed a little harder. "Get up, Fullmetal; this isn't the time to sleep."

Ed's eyes slowly creaked open. For a moment, his mind was too foggy to process anything, which couldn't have been better considering what happened when he _was_ able to focus. As soon as he collected his thoughts, pain tore through every nerve in his body. His whole body was on fire with pain, but his head and back hurt the worst. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but the pain wouldn't let him.

Roy felt a relieved smile creep on his face when Ed opened his eyes, even if the kid did look like he'd just been through an apocalypse. _'At least he's alive and awake. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks…'_

Ed was finally able to focus on the form hovering above him. At first, he didn't recognize the raven-haired man smiling down on him, but soon enough; bitter realization hit and his blood began to boil. "What the hell are you smiling about?" Ed snapped, quickly regretting the decision to wake up. _'I am going to kill that damn Envy a hundred times over for this…'_

Roy shook his head and quickly regained his cocky attitude. "You look like hell, Fullmetal. I'm actually surprised you let that Envy knock you out a _second _time."

"Shut up!" Ed hissed. The outburst jostled his broken ribs and he winced from the pain. _'Inconsiderate, cocky, arrogant, idiot-'_

"Can you sit up? Roy suddenly asked, interrupting Ed's thoughts.

Ed went to push off the ground with his arms, but abruptly found out his automail was gone when he came crashing back to the ground. He let out a muffled hack as his ribs prodded at his insides, increasing the pain overwhelming his nerves. When the pain resided to a tolerable level, Ed strained his eyes to the right half of his body. Where there should have been an artfully crafted, metal arm, there was nothing. "What the hell happened to my arm!?"

Roy sighed and helped Ed sit up. His hands being cuffed making everything all the more difficult. "Envy took it. And from the look of all these busted parts, I don't think it'll be much help if we get it back."

"Great. Just fantastic." Ed took in a few short breaths and rubbed the ports in his shoulder. _'I can tell he didn't do it gently. The ports are sore… he must've really screwed with my arm before it actually came off.'_

"Are you listening to me, Fullmetal?" Roy barked at Ed who was lost in his own pain induced thoughts.

"Nope," Ed replied mockingly. He shifted the weight on his arm and tried sitting forward more.

"I said that the lieutenant and the others probably have a search going for us. I'm sure they've woken up by now so it shouldn't be long. Someone must've seen where Envy took us. I can't treat you right now, but as soon as my crew gets here, you're going straight to a hospital."

Ed choked out a small laugh and shifted his weight again. "There are _so _many things wrong with that plan that it's not even funny."

"What the hell is so funny about it!?" Roy shouted, steam coming out of his ears.

"Well first of all, it was pretty early in the morning so I doubt too many people were out. And even if someone saw Envy, how would they know what they were looking at? And how would your crew know what to look for? And another thing, there is no chance in hell that I'm going to a hospital."

Roy rolled his eyes and slapped his hand onto Ed's forehead. "You've got a fever from hell. You're going to a hospital." He drew his hand away quickly when he noticed Ed squeeze his eyes shut from the tenderness of his bruise. He felt the guilt build up in his chest again. _'Forgot about that bruise on his head… Way to go, idiot…' _Roy scolded himself silently. He carefully placed his hand back on Ed's forehead, much lighter this time around. "And that bruise needs to be looked at."

Ed struggled away from the colonel, but fell backwards in the process. He vainly tried to hide the ache by gritting his teeth and holding back a whimper. _'Who does this bastard think he is? He can't make me go to a hospital if I don't want to!' _Ed took in a deep breath to calm himself down, but it only aided the pain ripping through his body.

_'Something else is wrong… he can hardly move…' _Roy started to pat Ed's chest and feel his ribs. "Shit…" He muttered as he felt the damage. "Well that doesn't feel good." He felt around the damage a little more and inwardly sighed. "He really did a number on you…"

Ed squirmed away from the colonel and sucked in a sharp breath. "Ouch! Dammit, colonel, knock it off! You're not exactly gentle, you know!"

"Just calm down, Fullmetal, don't move around so much. You've got a couple of broken ribs."

"No shit," Ed hissed, the sarcasm emphasized in his tone.

"I'm just trying to help! Stop being so damn stubborn and just give it a rest!" Roy fumed. He immediately felt guilty for yelling at the kid in front of him.

Ed turned his head and hid his eyes. "Would you uh… mind helping me up?" He asked in a small, defeated voice.

_'That was one damn pitiful request. Does he really have that much pride? Or does he really think I'm that much of an ass…' _Roy nodded and carefully helped Ed over to the wall so he could lean against it. The creaky, wooden wall didn't provide much support though. _'What's Envy going to do when he gets back? And who is this friend he's referring to?' _Roy stole a glance at Ed and frowned. _'He's in pain… he's in a lot of pain. And I called him weak. Just look at me, I was knocked out with a gas. He had the shit beat out of him. And of course Envy hadn't come for him. He was just dragged into the middle of it. Bastard homunculus…'_

"We should probably look for a way out of here. You wouldn't happen to have your gloves, would you?" Ed stared at the colonel hopefully.

Roy felt around his pockets and shook his head. "Not a one. Bastard must've taken them while I was out. And I already told you, my crew is on their way right now. We just have to wait."

_'I'm no good with one arm… but if we can get those cuffs off, maybe the colonel can get us out of here. But what's his deal? He should be looking for an escape instead of moping around like HE'S the one who lost an arm.' _Ed raised an eyebrow at the colonel. "You don't seem like the 'just have to wait' kind of person. What gives, colonel?"

_'He's awful damn optimistic for being in such sorry condition. That must be nicer than being in such a pissy mood. I just had to call that homunculus a sin. Who would've thought those bastards could get so irritated by a little insult. It's almost more pathetic than one of the shrimp's rants when you call him short. Maybe I should tease him… that might lighten the mood.' _Roy peered at Ed from the corner of his eyes and sighed. _'I'll tease him when we get out of this mess. IF we get out of this mess…' _

Roy didn't want Ed to know just how hopeless the situation looked. They were locked in a room in the middle of nowhere with no alchemy whatsoever. They were sitting ducks, just waiting in the slim streak of sunlight peaking through the dust on the window.

…

Riza stood at the head of a small group of MPs, daring one of them to speak up. Her eyes penetrated each one of the men before her, just peering into their souls. It was eerily quiet with the exception of the sound of a vacuum running in the distance. It was probably the janitor sweeping up the broken glass.

Riza, finally fed up with the silence, broke it with her own cold voice. "Does _anyone _have any leads on the location of the colonel and Fullmetal?"

Fuery and Breda stole a quick glance at each other before gulping their pride and speaking up. "No, sir; there hasn't been a single report of a sighting of anyone matching either of their descriptions."

Riza gave a single nod and looked to the other men. "Check every security camera, ask every person in Central, and once you've completed that, do it all again. We have to find them as soon as possible. Understood?"

The group of blue-clad soldiers gave their salutes and headed off to their assignments, leaving Riza and Havoc to wait anxiously in front of Central Command. The sun beat down on their heads, and the weather, having warmed up some, made it a nice day to be outside. The unusual cold had begun to fizzle out and all that was left was a slight nip in the air coupled with warming sunshine. But not even the perfect atmosphere could relieve the worry that filled Riza's mind.

"You know, Hawkeye," Havoc started, wheeling himself to rest beside her. "Those two are strong. They're going to be just fine."

"You'd think we'd have some kind of lead by now."

"We'll find them. But… I was actually going to ask if anyone has contacted Alphonse about this. It's always helpful to have an extra pair of eyes searching."

A chilled breeze brushed past Havoc and Riza, somehow calming their nerves just a bit. "I'll go call him. Wait here in case one of the men comes back with information."

"Can do!" Havoc chirped, feeling accomplished in lightening the lieutenant's worries. He took in a deep breath and dug around his pockets. A smile flashed across his face when his hands hit two small rectangles tucked securely in his breast pocket. He pulled out one of his cigarettes and his lighter and held it up to his mouth. "Now for something to calm my nerves…" He muttered as the flame from the lighter caught the end of the rolled paper. He took a long drag on the smoke and frowned. "Not even these can make me feel better…"

Havoc heard the stomping of the military boots behind him and frowned even more. "No luck reaching Alphonse, huh?"

Riza shook her head and returned to her statue like stance next to Havoc. "He wasn't home. I'll have to try again later."

Havoc noticed the added intensity in her voice and looked up to her with worried eyes. "Did something else happen? Are you afraid they got Alphonse too?"

Riza produced an envelope from under her arm, but hesitated to hand it to Havoc. "I'm not worried about Alphonse. From what I heard, whoever did this was only after the colonel and I'm afraid that Edward just happened to return at the wrong time. But…" She paused and stared blankly at the envelope. "These are the results of the blood analysis."

"Oh…" Havoc sighed and dragged on his smoke. "From the disappointed look on your face I can tell there's nothing useful in there. It would've been nice to get a sample of blood from whoever did this."

Riza's gaze didn't falter. It was impossible to tell what that woman was thinking. She had the coldest stare in all of Central, and probably smiled the least too. "There was a lot of blood in that room."

Havoc shrugged his shoulders and took another drag on his cigarette. "Two people were kidnapped. It's a reasonable amount."

"All of it was Edward's."

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**So this is probably the only time I'll ever do this. I'm just so excited for the next few chapters, that I figured I'd get the filler one out of the way. But as I said in the first chapter, I really am a pushover. It only took one person to get me to update sooner. **

**And I just have to put this out there: I AM SO EXCITED FOR IRON MAN 3 THAT I MIGHT JUST DIE! **

**Alright, now I'm dead serious. Nah, just kidding, I'm never serious lol. Anyways... the story will be updated this Friday, as it is the intended schedule. **


	8. The Escape

**Alright, so I'm writing this story and suddenly, it hits me. Ta hell with this schedule! I can knock out one of these chapters in two afternoons! Why should I make you wait? So here we go, now I'm just going along as it gets finished. And can I just say, thank you to all of my enthusiastic reviewers! Especially Cartoon Cow. I don't know why but your review really put me in a good mood. :) So thank you for the enthusiasm! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER VIII**

**THE ESCAPE**

_'We have to get out of here. There's no telling what that bastard Envy is going to do when he gets back. And apparently, he's got a friend coming too. If only Fullmetal had his arm… then we could use alchemy and get the hell out-' _Roy's thoughts were cut off as Ed forced himself to his hand and knees and began to crawl across the floor. "What the hell, Fullmetal!? I thought I told you not to move!"

Ed ignored him and continued with his quest. _'That bastard can sit there and do nothing if he wants, but I'M going to do something to get us out of here.' _Ed slowly crept over to the pile of metal rubble in the middle of the room and started picking through the pieces. He threw several wires and springs to the side to sieve through the pile. _'No… that won't do. No, that's too dull… Ugh, I didn't think this would be so hard…' _

"What are you doing, Fullmetal?" Roy asked in a pained voice. He watched the young alchemist diligently, hoping to get some clue as to what was going through his head.

Ed sat back and sighed. He had almost given up when something glistened in the corner of his eye. He reached over to the metal shard and carefully picked it up. For some reason, when the shard cut his hand, Ed _smiled._

"Way to go, Fullmetal, now you've gone and cut yourself! Don't you think you've bled enough for one day!?" Roy reprimanded. _'He's a moron! Why is he even digging through that shit!?'_

Ed started to make his way back to the colonel, grunting with each movement as it disturbed his broken ribs. He tried his hardest to tune out Mustang's yelling, but when it still hadn't ceased by the time he'd returned to his place against the wall, Ed lost it. "WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!? Holy shit! You haven't stopped yelling since I woke up!"

"Do not talk to your superior that way," Roy said flatly.

Ed rolled his eyes and jerked Mustang's hands out of his lap. "Let me see those…" He muttered while resituating himself.

"Now what are you doing?" Roy groaned, his irritation apparent.

Ed propped the cuffs on one of his knees and brought the shard up to them. Using his knee as the resistance, Ed began to carve into the cuffs with the sharp piece of metal. After a few test scratches, Ed smiled in satisfaction. _'That'll work.'_

Roy watched with a confused look as Ed began to scratch up the cuffs. "Are you honestly _that _bored, Fullmetal? Don't you think it'd be a better idea to get some rest? You look like you could use it."

"I'm fine," Ed lied quietly. He winced at the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sound coming from the grinding metal.

"Well… would you at least tell me what you're doing?" Roy asked, trying his hardest to sound kind.

Without removing his focus from his work, Ed nodded and began his explanation. "I'll scratch out a transmutation circle on these handcuffs and transmute them off of you. Then you can look for a way out and we might have a chance of surviving this. I don't think your crew will find us in time if we just sit here and do nothing."

"Oh."

Roy and Ed sat in silence for the longest time with nothing but the sound of metal scratching metal to cut through the stillness. It had to be one of the most unpleasant sounds Roy had ever heard in his life. Ed was hardly finished with the first circle when the sound became too much for Roy. _'I'm going to go insane. Holy shit, if that damn sound doesn't stop soon, I'm going to lose my sanity. I'll kill both of us, right here and now. I can't take it…'_

Ed noticed the pained expression scrawled across Mustangs face and sighed. "It's either the noise or death."

"I think that noise is going to be the death of me anyways."

Ed growled and continued with his scratching. _'Who would've thought the colonel would have such sensitive hearing. Damn old man.' _Ed chuckled lightly to himself and sniffled. His nose was a tad runny and he could hardly breathe out of it.

"So… uh…" Roy began awkwardly. He didn't often spend time alone with his subordinates, leaving him completely clueless on how to break the uncomfortable silence. Roy opted to remain quiet for the time being and simply watch his one-armed subordinate work. _'He's responding much better to this situation than I am. He's acting more like an adult than I am. Is there something wrong with him? Is he in pain!? He's been through a whole lot of shit in just two days… I can imagine that wouldn't be too enjoyable. I just wish he'd say something… anything! Wait a minute… since when did I start caring about this smart-mouthed shrimp!?'_

Ed coughed into his hand, nearly cutting himself with the scrap metal in the process, and started on the details of the transmutation circle.

Roy had nearly jumped out of his skin when Ed had brought that shard to his mouth, thinking he was going to cut right through his face. "Be careful with that damn metal, would you? You've already lost a lot of blood and I don't want you getting anymore cut up. You look dehydrated as it is so just be careful." Roy requested harshly. He waited a few more seconds, his eyes moving back and forth between Ed and the circle, and finally couldn't contain his impatience anymore. "Are you almost finished with that?"

"Could you just… _stop _already?" Ed hissed, his voice full of aggravation.

Roy blinked in astonishment. "Well _excuse _the hell outta me for being in a rush. That homunculus could be back any minute and you're taking you good ole' time finishing that circle, _just _like you do with everything else. Always taking you good ole' time."

"You know, Mustang, we wouldn't be in this damn mess if you hadn't let Envy knock you out so easily."

"He wouldn't have knocked me out if I hadn't insulted him while saving _your_ dumb ass."

"He wouldn't of kidnapped me if I hadn't been in the infirmary, which, _by the way, _I wouldn't have been in if you hadn't been so persistent on getting that report _immediately._"

"I wouldn't even have sent you on that mission if you had turned that first damn report in on time! But _no! _You pissed around for three days and didn't get it done!"

"Oh shut the hell up already!"

"No god dammit! We wouldn't be in this mess if you had just turned that report in on time! Now I want to know just what the hell you were doing for those three days!"

"Didn't I already tell you it's none of your damn business!?" By this point in the argument, Ed had stopped working on the circle and was flailing his arm wildly.

"Whether it's any of my business or not, I don't care! I am your commanding officer! You _will _answer my question!"

Ed's fist clenched around the metal as the sharp edges dug into his skin, leaving behind new lesions and new blood. Finally fed up with Mustang's shit, Ed threw the bloodied scrap to the ground and turned away. "Finish the damn circle yourself," He muttered with disdain.

That vein on Mustang's forehead began to bulge again as he contemplated on how to get a spark going without his gloves. _'I'm going to fry that shrimp when we get out of this…' _Roy looked at the metal on the floor in front of him and let out a groan. "You know as well as I do that I can't finish the circle with my hands cuffed."

Ed grunted and refused to look around. _'He thinks he can just pry into my life and ask all the damn questions he wants. He has no sense of privacy, that bastard colonel.'_

"Let's go, Fullmetal! Hurry up! We don't have all day for you to finish this!"

"I already told you to finish it yourself. Envy won't kill me so I have nothing to worry about. You're the only one who's in danger here."

Roy bit back a snide comment and gritted his teeth. "You're sick, dammit. If we don't get you some help here soon, you'll die too. So just finish the circle, and both of us can have a chance to live."

"Whatever…" Ed grumbled as he moved back in front of Roy. "Give me your damn hands," He growled as he yanked them from his lap and repositioned them on his knee. _'Of course I'd get stuck with the colonel of all people! Even Hawkeye would be better than him! She wouldn't be so damn persistent. Hell, she wouldn't ask questions to begin with!'_

Roy stared at Ed's hand. Blood was trickling from his palm and down his wrists before disappearing under his red sleeve. _'I… I must've really pissed him off for him to grasp something so sharp with so much force. What could he have been doing that he would be absolutely against telling me about? Not like he tells me anything to begin with, but still… it's never been this big of an issue. Not even the whole swimming thing was this much of a problem for him to tell me about.'_

Roy noticed Ed was taking deep breaths. "Hey, you okay, Fullmetal?"

Ed nodded without meeting Roy's gaze. He didn't want to admit just how bad off he was. He _felt _like hell. And not only from the beatings he had endured over the past two days. After Roy had brought up the days before he'd returned to Central, Ed couldn't get the memories out of his mind. The agonizing pain from the rain, the discovery he had made about that thing he had transmuted, and Hohenheim all danced around in Ed's mind. Couple with his blinding headache and the pain from his injuries, it was damn well near enough to make Ed crumble.

_'I won't fall. I won't break apart. Not now. Not in front of Mustang,' _Ed thought. He took another deep breath to force the memories down. _'I have to stay strong. I have to stay focused so we can make it out of here. I have to live so I can get Al his body back. Even if it means putting up with the colonel and his damn questions.'_

The deep breaths were meant to calm Ed down. He didn't particularly _enjoy_ sucking in so much air, as it agitated his ribs, but it was necessary. If he had had his other arm, he could've just clawed at the floorboards, _anything _would've worked to release the energy of his pent up emotions. But for the time being, the only thing he could do was take a deep breath and focus on the circle, which was almost complete.

Roy smiled as the last details were set into place on the circle. The colonel had to admit, it looked pretty damn good for being done with scrap metal and in a restricted space. He looked at Edward eagerly as he waited for the young alchemist to activate the transmutation circle. His smile faded when he noticed the alchemist's hesitation.

"Is there any particular reason that you haven't removed these handcuffs from around my wrists yet?" Roy questioned with formality and a slight hint of sarcasm.

_'M-mom always said we were like Hohenheim when we did our alchemy. I-I never want to be anything like that bastard… but… but I have to use alchemy… to get Al his body back… There's no way to get around it...'_

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked, softening his voice. He could tell something was wrong with Ed. His very being seemed to emanate distress and discomfort. He was too quiet. Edward Elric, _the _Fullmetal Alchemist, was never – absolutely never – quiet. In all honesty, the only time Roy _could _recall Ed being quiet was when they first met and he was nothing more than a heap of broken child sitting in a wheelchair.

Ed quickly threw his hand on the circle and destroyed the cuffs, not even bothering to reconstruct them into something new. He could thank Scar for that little trick. But he made sure to leave the section with the transmutation circle intact. It took a long time to make and he was certain it would be useful in the future.

Roy immediately rubbed his red wrists and let out a moan of relief. The cuffs were off and Envy wasn't back yet, so the situation was looking brighter by the moment. Now all that needed to be done was find an escape route.

Roy glanced around the room, taking in all it had to offer. This included the oodles of cobwebs, a few occupied by your friendly neighborhood arachnid, metal scraps, torn up planks of wood, dust, dust, and more dust. Roy got to his feet and tried the door first. Locked, of course. Then he made his way to the window. He had to push past the instinct to avoid the spiders in order to put his hands on the window, which, was of course, locked as well.

"Any luck?" Ed asked from his place on the floor. When the colonel shook his head in a disheartening no, Ed decided it was time to take a different approach. _'Think… think… There has to be a way out of here. There's always a way out. Could we bust the door down? I doubt it. Envy would have enough reinforcement on that door to stop an enraged heard of bulls…'_

Roy stared out of the dust covered window while absentmindedly scratching his head. _'We could try busting the window. Although… it looks like a pretty thick glass. I think only Armstrong would be able to bust it. I know it'd be pointless for me to try and without his automail arm, I doubt Ed could do it either…'_

Ed idly fumbled with the metal in his hand as he thought. He was just thankful that this piece didn't have the sharp edges like the shard had had. After letting his mind wander for a good couple of minutes, it finally hit him. It was as if he were just struck by lightning. That's how immediately the idea came to him.

"Hey, colonel!" Ed enthusiastically shouted.

"Hm?" Roy mumbled. As he turned around he was greeted by a fiery-eyed Ed with a huge smiled scrawled across his face. "You're either going to kill me or you have a plan…"

"I, my good sir, have a plan."

Roy couldn't help but smile back at the young alchemist. "Alright. What do you need?"

Ed tilted his chin towards the pile of scrap metal and bored his eyes into Mustang. "Can you bring me that scrap?"

Roy bent over the pile and started to carefully collect the pieces. "How much of this do you need?"

"Just bring me all of it," Ed ordered.

Roy collected as much as he could in his hands and swept the rest over with his foot, kicking up dust in the process. "What are you planning to do with all of this?"

Ed was practically drooling over all of the material. He let out a snicker as he threw the transmutation circle on top of the pile. In a flash of blue lightning, the once scattered and disorganized heap of metal turned into a tacky, yet well made, decorative cuff. Being one of Ed's creations, it had some of the least tasteful decorum, but it still proved functional. He slipped it over his wrist and made sure it fit snugly.

Roy raised his eyebrow at the seemingly pointless transmutation. "You had me gather all of that metal… for a piece of _jewelry_?"

Ed grunted and held out his arm. "This is our ticket out of here."

Roy didn't have to look hard to find his answer. The transmutation circle that had taken so long to carve out was now embedded in the gaudy cuff. "Impressive, Fullmetal. Who'd you steal this idea off of?"

"Michael Foster."

Roy tore his gaze away from the cuff and met Ed's eyes. "That alchemist I sent you after?"

"That very one." Ed staggered to his feet and started for the wall, stumbling from the tingle in his flesh leg. "He was using a similar cuff to do his transmutations. It's a good thing too. It looks like alchemy is our only way out of here."

"Before you go and do something stupid, make a small window to look out of. The actual window is covered in enough dust to block out the sun."

Ed complied and created a small slit to look through. At first glance, not much could be seen. It was obvious that the small building they were in was surrounded by a dense forest, but other than that, the property looked quiet. "I don't see anything except forest. I don't think Envy is back yet."

"Let me take a look." Roy pushed Ed to the side and peered through the slit. He came up with the same conclusion as Ed, except he noticed something else. "Have we really been in here that long?"

Ed pushed Roy out of the way in a similar, yet slightly rougher fashion that was done to him and stared through the slit again. "Guess we have… Looks like the sun is going to set in a few hours."

"We'd better get moving then."

Ed placed his hand flat on the wall and let the blue sparks fly. In just mere moments, a door appeared, providing for an escape route for the two alchemists. They hurried out, blinking in the sun for the first few moments.

Ed rubbed his eyes and shielded them with his hand. "I don't suppose you know how to get to Central from here?"

"I know there's a forest to the north and south of Central. So… I guess we head either north… or south…"

Ed gave Roy the most sarcastic expression and sighed. "Well _that _was a lot of help. If we just get away from here and find civilization, we should be fine. But first…" Ed turned around and re-transmuted the door, leaving behind nothing but a few transmutation marks near the base. It blended in well with the broken look of the wood, so unless anyone was really looking hard, the marks wouldn't be noticed.

"Alright, let's get a move on," Roy ordered, taking the lead. He casually glanced over his shoulder to make sure Ed was following, but he wasn't too happy with the sight. _'He's not doing too good. C'mon, Roy, you have to hurry up and get out of this.' _Roy slowed so Ed could keep pace. "C'mon, Fullmetal, we've got to hurry."

Ed nodded with his gaze still focused on the ground. _'Just keep walking. Focus on your footsteps. Don't think about your arm, or your back, or your head. Don't think about the pain. Just think about your steps. Watch your stride. Keep moving forward.'_

Ed was snapped out of his thoughts by the terrifying sound of tires tearing across gravel. The sound grew louder and louder by the second.

"Shit," Roy mumbled. He turned around and grabbed Ed's attention. His eyes told him everything. _Run. Now._

The silent order was given and the two took off. Ed stumbled at first, nearly tripped over a few rocks, and almost ran into a tree. He was able to smooth himself out but still lagged behind Roy.

Roy ran as fast as he could. The fear inside him grew as quickly as the noise from the truck grew. _'Dammit, that homunculus is back already! I was hoping we'd at least get a bit of a head start! Fullmetal and I are screwed if-' _Roy stopped when he noticed the absence of footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Ed hunched over at his knees, panting like a dog. Roy quickly rushed over to Ed to see what the problem was. "What's the matter with you, Fullmetal!? We need to be running!"

By this point, the sound of the truck had stopped and was replaced by the sound of car doors being slammed shut. True, Ed and Roy were deep enough to be concealed by the forest; they were still fairly close to the building and could be easily found if they didn't move quickly.

Ed was still hunched over at this time and Roy was becoming frantic. _'We've gotta go, we've gotta go, we've gotta go! What the hell is wrong with him!?' _Roy shook Ed's shoulders and stared at him with wide, fear filled eyes."Let's go, Fullmetal!"

"Just – give me – a second!" Ed yelled through tailored breaths.

A moment passed and Ed still couldn't gather himself to run. Then, a nerve-wracking, completely pissed shriek echoed through the forest.

"PIIIIIIPSQUEEEEEEEAK!"

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**Aight, my party peoples, I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'M GOING TO UPDATE! :D It'll probably be Friday because I seem to be able to get one of these done every two days so that shouldn't be too horrible of a wait. Screw schedules! I'm going to be spontaneous! I LOVE ALL OF YOU! Now I'm excited lol. So I'll see you guys around! Oh, and a side effect of this story may be the strong desire to review... just saying... :) **


	9. The Homunculus' Shaking Hands

**OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! :D Dudes, I am just totally digging that intense enthusiasm! I mean, just all of my reviewers really say some wonderful things! Have I told you guys that I love you yet? **

**Um... the title of this chapter may be a tad confusing. It relates to a very minor part but it was the only thing I could think of lol. And I don't know why, but I was really pleased with this chapter. Probably one of my favorites so far. Alright, I'll shut up and let you guys read :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER IX**

**THE HOMUNCULUS' SHAKING HANDS**

"PIIIIIPSQUEEEEEEEEEEAK!"

_'Oh shit! He knows we've escaped!' _Roy thought in a fury. He looked back at the boy hunched in front of him, a look of terror plastered on his face.

Ed saw the look on the colonel's face. _'Dammit! Envy knows we're gone! We need to run… but I don't think I can make it very far…' _Ed looked at the colonel with wide eyes and swallowed. "Just go ahead. I'll catch up with you later," He managed to squeak out.

Roy let out a growl and snatched Ed's wrist before taking off in a full blown sprint. "Don't be such a dumbass! There's no way in hell I'm leaving you behind! It's either both of us live or both of us die!"

Ed was thoroughly surprised. _'H-he's really not going to leave me behind… I thought for sure the bastard would take off running without a second thought about leaving me here…'_

Ed stumbled but kept his balance, aided by the pulling on his arm. Roy kept going, silently hoping he wasn't doing more harm than good by dragging the kid around as roughly as he was. _'Just have to keep moving. We'll be alright if we just keep running.'_

The sound of trees being knocked over filled the forest, and told Roy to quicken his pace. Whatever was following them must've been pretty big to be able to knock over trees. They kept running. Another noise roared through the foliage, a growl maybe? Whatever it was, it was nerve shattering.

Roy pushed through some bushes and elms, nearly smacking Edward in the face with a tree branch. The two alchemists found themselves on the edge of the forest that literally dropped off into a rock quarry. _'Oh man… Don't wanna fall off of that…' _Roy concluded, his mind in a panic. _'I've got to find somewhere to hide… we have to get out of sight… Where? Where…'_

"DAMN YOU, PIPSQUEAK! I saw those transmutations marks! YOU. WILL. NOT. GET AWAY. AGAIN!" Envy bellowed from within the shrubbery. He was close. Way too close for comfort.

Another, higher pitched, voice contributed to Envy's shouts. "Can I eat him, Envy? Can I?"

"Not the shrimp! You stay away from him! But the taller one is all yours!" Envy told. It was answered with a chuckle coming from the second voice.

_'Eaten!? What the hell does he mean by 'can I eat him'?!' _Roy began to panic and looked all around. _'Gotta hide… gotta hide!'_

Ed's eyebrow twitched and his antenna shot straight up. "JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A _SHRIMP!?_"

Roy face palmed and glared at Ed. "Way to give away our position."

"He called me short!"

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a moan. He was just about to tell Edward off when Envy pounced from the bushes and tackled him to the ground. Envy pinned Roy down by his wrists and kneed him in the gut. His face was screwed up in anger and his eyes pierced whatever they landed on.

"Why hello, colonel. What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to find you out here in the woods." Envy's words were pure, mocking evil. They were colder than Hawkeye's, and had no trace of emotion whatsoever. He was truly pissed, and that was saying something for a typically easy-going homunculus.

"You are going to tell me just what you plan to do with Fullmetal and me, understand?" Roy demanded, still pinned under the homunculus.

Envy threw his head back and laughed. "You are in no position to be making orders, colonel," He chuckled, his voice finally sprouting some hint of emotion.

Roy glanced to the side and saw that Ed was preparing to make an attack. _'No, Fullmetal! Just stay there! He won't do anything to you if you just stay put!' _Roy desperately wanted to shout this to Edward, but he didn't want to give Envy a heads-up on the attack. _'Dammit, Roy, think! Do something other than just sit here!'_

Ed quietly stepped over to a tree and transmuted one of the branches into a spear with a gaudy handle. _'It won't do much except maybe draw him away from the colonel…' _Ed let out a war cry and charged at Envy, wielding the wooden weapon as if it would really deal any sort of damage.

"Now, Gluttony!" Envy commanded without moving away from the colonel.

Just as Ed's gaudy spear would've made contact with Envy, an excessively large, round, gelatinous beast hurled himself into Ed, effectively knocking him a ways back. Ed slammed into a nearby tree and slid to the ground, rubbing his head as he sat up. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"

Roy struggled under Envy's hold and tried to squirm his way out. _'No, no, no! Fullmetal!'_

Envy tilted his head back and let another one of his wicked laughs. "That was priceless, pipsqueak! Damn do I love when Gluttony slams into people!" He moved his gaze to meet Roy's as his lips curled into a smile. "Now, be a good colonel and don't make poor Gluttony here play with his food. We try to teach him good table manners and we just can't have a feisty meal ruining that."

"Hey, bastard!"

Envy's head shot up just as a series of heavy, stone projectiles slammed into every inch of his face. Roy went pale as one of Ed's projectiles just barely missed the tip of his nose.

"What the hell, Fullmetal!? Are you _trying _to kill me!?" Roy shouted in slightly sarcastic anger.

Envy teetered on top of Roy, his hands held firmly to his face. Roy decided this was ample opportunity to escape from the homunculus's grasp. He quickly planted his feet into the sin's gut and kicked off with impressive strength. Although, Envy was much heavier than he had anticipated, making it much more difficult to get him off. But with enough effort, Roy managed to throw Envy away just enough to make his escape.

Envy took to his feet, standing next to the Gluttony homunculus with a scowl forming as his features healed. "I'm going to get you for that, pipsqueak."

"I'd like to see you try, Envy," Ed taunted. He gave Envy the ever-so-familiar 'come at me' glare and motion with his index finger. _'I am so kicking his ass.'_

Envy snorted and rocketed off the ground, crashing right into Ed. The two wrestled around, pulling at golden and green hair and twisting arms in every imaginable direction. Ed even went so far as to bite Envy's hand, which was promptly answered to with a knee to the groin.

Ed was at a bit of disadvantage with him only having one arm, but his ability to do alchemy made up for it. As Envy's fist made its way for Ed's face, he quickly pulled to the side and transmuted the ground around his hand. _'If it worked on Scar, it'll work on Envy,' _Ed mused, pleased with his work. He had enough time to get away from Envy and catch a quick breather. It was short lived as the homunculus broke out of the hold and resumed his angry disposition.

"You are so rightfully lucky that father won't let me kill your ass, pipsqueak. But then again, with the amount of pain I'm going to put you through, you might just wish you were dead!" Envy's fist extended and made forceful contact with Ed's shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards.

"You only wish you could beat me, Envy!" Ed teased. He blocked the next few attacks by taking the impact with his arm. _'It's time like these when automail really comes in handy!' _Ed ducked to the left and hid himself from view, his back against a thick dogwood.

While Envy and Edward were battling, Roy was playing cat and mouse with Gluttony. Unfortunately, Roy was the mouse. And the cat was really hungry.

"Please just sit still!" Gluttony begged in his eerily innocent voice.

_'Just the thought about being eaten makes my skin crawl…' _Roy thought as he ran. He rounded to the right and dove back into the forest, hoping to find some cover.

"Oh do please come out now! I'll eat you quickly, yes? Will that make you come out?" Gluttony called. He stuck his finger into his mouth and looked around. "I wonder where my dinner went…"

_'Well this is just great! Damn you, Fullmetal! This is all your fault! We wouldn't be in this mess if you had just followed my orders and turned that report in on time!' _Roy stewed in his anger while remaining hidden. Gluttony had yet to find him so it looked like the colonel was in the clear. That was until Roy looked to his right and saw Ed about to be annihilated.

"Come out come out wherever you are, pipsqueak!" Envy beckoned, his hands cupped around his mouth. He noticed the slightest wave of red flicker out from behind a tree and made his move.

Ed began to sweat as he heard footsteps closing in on him. Not that he hadn't been sweating beforehand; it was just a nervous sweat now. He looked for en escape route but found none. There were a few bushes to the front and side, both dropping off into the quarry, and he hadn't really had the time to scan the left.

Envy took off into a dead sprint for the dogwood. This was one fast homunculus. In no time flat, Envy was less than a yard away from the tree. He picked his feet up and landed one of the most impressive jump kicks he had ever done. With a crack and the splintering of wood, the mighty tree began to fall. It was on a downward path straight for Ed, and it was coming fast.

Ed craned his neck up and his face paled. His heart seemed to skip a beat as he watched the dogwood head straight for his face. Ed squeezed his eyes closed, hoping the impact would be quick and painless. Instead, he was greeted with another impact from the left.

"Don't just stand there, Fullmetal! You were about to get crushed!" Roy shouted as he pushed himself off of Ed. The boy just stared at him with a blank face, occasionally blinking his eyes. "What the hell are you staring at!?" Roy continued. He grabbed Ed's collar and dragged the shaky boy to his feet. But Ed could hardly stand. He was just so drained and in so much pain that his legs were refusing to cooperate.

Something rustled in the bushes and Envy's head poked through. He smiled at Ed and the colonel and turned his head. "Don't worry, Gluttony, I found your dinner!" Envy reached out with a long, green arm and yanked the colonel away from Ed. "C'mon, colonel, you've made poor Gluttony wait long enough for his meal."

Without the colonel to hold Ed on his feet, the boy quickly sunk to his knees, feeling the exhaustion run through his legs. _'You've got to stand up and fight! Get up, you moron! You have to stand up!' _Ed was silently scolding himself for being so tired. _'Dammit, just start moving! That bastard of a colonel is going to get eaten if you just sit here like a pathetic little kid!' _Ed's expression turned from angry to a blank realization. "DID I JUST CALL MYSELF SHORT!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ed's sudden outburst was enough of a boost of energy to get him on his feet and running again. He pushed a few tree branches out of his way and tore his way back into the fight. Envy had his arms extended and wrapped around Roy, forcing the colonel's arms behind his back. Gluttony was licking his lips and drooling, making a slow advance on the intertwined enemies.

"This is where it ends, homunculi!" Ed cried as he charged at Envy. His automail leg thumped against the ground loudly with his heavy lunges while his human leg made little to no sound whatsoever. If Ed had both of his real legs, he'd be excellent at sneaking up on people. Well, he _would _be if he'd take off his thick, clunky boots.

Envy swore under his breath and growled. "Stay back, pipsqueak, or else you'll be eaten too. Then Father would have not only Gluttony's ass, but mine as well."

But Ed kept running towards them. _'First, I'm going to kill Envy a couple hundred times. Then, I'm going to kill him again, just for good measure. THEN, I'm going to beat some information out of him. I want to know just who the hell this Father guy is and why Al and I are sacrifices. And when that's all over, I'm going to kick the colonel's ass for insulting the damn homunculus and getting us into this mess!'_

Roy struggled in Envy's hold and grunted from exerting so much effort. "Dammit, Fullmetal; just stay the hell back!" Roy howled. He didn't want Ed to be eaten along with him if it wasn't in the homunculi's plan. But not only that, Roy could feel just how pissed Envy was. The homunculus's hands were shaking with anger and his grip on Roy was tightening. That probably scared Roy the most. He didn't want to imagine what a truly pissed off homunculus would do to a kid who was part of the aggravation.

Ed jumped into the air and brought his foot down into Envy's face. But instead of falling to the ground in pain like Ed had expected, Envy just grabbed Ed's ankle and held him upside down. He wouldn't make eye contact with Ed. And he wasn't shouting or calling him pipsqueak. Not a good sign.

_'Shit. Now he's really done it,' _Roy thought helplessly. Even with only one of Envy's arms restraining him, he still couldn't make his escape.

Ed tried to wriggle himself free of Envy's grasp, but the homunculus had a death grip on his leg. It was a good thing it was his automail leg. If it had been his real leg, Envy would've broken it by now. Ed continued his struggle until Envy snapped at him.

"You're dead, you little pipsqueak," Envy stated emotionlessly. Just the pure ice of his voice caused Ed to shudder.

Edward gulped and was about to make a weak attempt at a rant about being called short when Envy decided he'd had enough.

Envy swung Ed in an arc through the air before slamming him roughly into the ground. He threw Roy back and dragged Ed into the air again. "I don't really give a damn anymore if Father gets pissed after I kill you." With that statement, Envy hurled Ed over the edge of the forest, sending the blonde plummeting into the rock quarry. The clanking of his automail smashing against the rocks echoed through the forest.

"Fullmetal! No!" Roy cried. He jumped to his feet and started for the quarry. He could almost imagine all the blood and gore he would find at the bottom. He knew Ed would be a broken, bloodied mess after a fall like that.

Envy nonchalantly grabbed Roy's collar and threw him to the ground, pinning him with his foot. "Worthless alchemist. Goodbye and good riddance," He muttered while staring over the quarry. He didn't actually look down into it, almost as if _he _were afraid of what he might find.

"You bastard!" Roy screamed in pure anger, concern, and terror. He breathed heavily and tried to push Envy's foot off. "You sin!" He continued to cry. _'I've got to go get Fullmetal! He's hurt! I can't leave him down there! I have to get this bastard off of me!' _The only thing Roy could think about was Ed. He was genuinely scared that his young subordinate had been brutally injured. He hated seeing Ed hurt like he always was. It wasn't fair. He was only just a kid.

"You just don't learn, do you, colonel?" Envy quizzed. He knelt down on top of Roy and stared him in the eyes. "Now that the shrimp is out of the picture, I can finally deal with you. Now-"

"I SWEAR, ENVY, IF YOU CALL ME SHRIMP _ONE MORE TIME_, I'M GOING TO ROYALLY TEAR YOU INTO PIECES!"

Roy felt a small smile creep onto his face. _'He's alive…'_

Envy snarled and stood up. "You are a pain in my ass, pipsqueak!" Envy hollered into the quarry, but Ed was nowhere in sight. Envy leaned over the edge to get a closer look, but was instead greeted by fiery eyes making their way straight for him. Envy managed to step back just in time to save his face from smashing into the pillar that shot into the sky.

Ed placed his hand onto the stone pillar he was currently situated on and transmuted a horizontal pillar out of it. The new stone structure slammed into Envy and Gluttony, trapping them on the ground. Ed hopped off of his transmutation and snatched the colonel's arm. "Let's go!" Ed ordered as he took the lead. Trapping the homunculi with the stone gave the duo a few minutes head start, but it wouldn't last long. They needed to get out of plain sight, and fast.

Roy, being too stunned with the fact that Ed was alive and _running_, followed behind without a word. He was led around trees, through bushes, past rocks, and finally down a path that led into the quarry. Then and only then did Roy stop to question Ed. "Fullmetal," He started while digging his heels into the rock. "What are we doing down here? The homunculi will be able to spot us from an elevated point."

Ed rolled his eyes and dragged the colonel further. "I saw a cave when Envy threw me down here," He whispered. Ed came to a skidding halt behind some rocks and carefully peeked around the boulder. He waved the colonel over with his hand and pointed to the dark opening in the quarry. "In there. We should be able to stay hidden in that cave."

The cracking of stone and the roar of Envy echoed off of the quarry walls, causing a few loose rocks to fall from their settled position and roll down the walls. Ed quickly shoved the colonel into the black abyss of the cave and quickly followed suit. They settled in the far back, concealed by darkness as the footsteps of the homunculi closed in on them.

Roy put his finger to his mouth as the footsteps halted.

"Oh screw the pipsqueak and that bastard colonel! I'm sick of looking for their sorry asses! C'mon, Gluttony, let's get out of here. Those bastard alchemists gave me a damn headache," Envy ranted from just beyond the cave where Ed and Roy were hiding. The homunculus didn't know just how incredibly close he was to his targets.

"But, Envy, I'm hungry! I wanted to eat that man!"

"I'll find you something else to eat! Besides, that bastard will just spoil your appetite!"

_'I have a feeling I should be insulted right now, but I'm just thankful that I'm not going to be eaten any time soon,' _Roy mused, a smile playing on his lips.

"Okay, Envy…"

Ed could imagine Gluttony sticking his finger into his mouth right about now.

"Hey, Envy, are you going to tell Father about this?" The innocent sounding homunculus questioned. His voice caused Roy to cringe, reminding him of how close the gelatinous beast came to eating him.

Ed heard Envy stomp his foot and cringed himself. The homunculus was pretty damn heavy and he would not like to be the bug under Envy's pounding foot. "No chance in hell! He'll be seriously pissed if he finds out!" The sin shrieked, frustration lacing his tone.

Ed and Roy listened to Envy's rant as it slowly faded away, signaling the homunculi's leave. And just for good measure, the two decided to sit in the silent darkness for an extra twenty minutes, just to make sure they were truly alone.

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**Hey, my friends! How's it rollin'? Okay, sorry for the late-ish update. I just got home from watching an AMAZING movie. Iron Man 3. Go see it. I highly recommend it. Everything I thought it was going to be and so much more. **

**Alrighty, I shall see you, my friends, in a day or two! And just remember that little side effect I told you about last chapter... :)**


	10. The Truth in His Thoughts

**Hola, mis amigos! Como estan Uds.? Sorry, ha-ha. I was just working on some Spanish homework. Soooooo! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was a tad slow, but I got to sleep! I love me some sleep. Hey, I've been thinking about doing another story. If anyone has any ideas or wants to tell me I should stop writing before I make the readers go blind from my sucky writing skills, just PM me or write something in the review. Uuuuuhhhhh... Okay, that's all I have for right now.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER X**

**THE TRUTH IN HIS THOUGHTS**

That had to have been the longest, quietest, darkest twenty minutes of Roy's life. He's sat in silence, listening to his own heartbeat. After becoming bored of that noise, he listened to the dripping of water somewhere in the small crevice he sat in. And once he was bored of that noise, he listened to Ed. For reasons he could not think of, the sound of Ed's breathing was something Roy could listen to for hours. It was comforting to know the boy was still alive, especially after the fight they had just had.

_'It's been a while and the homunculi still haven't found us. Maybe they've given up. From how pissed that Envy was, I think they've given up. I can't take this silence much more… It's almost as bad as when Fullmetal was carving out that transmutation circle…' _Roy straightened up against the wall and looked around. Not that it did him any good. It was so dark in the far corner of the cave that he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

"Fullmetal?" Roy whispered. _'Why am I whispering?' _Roy wondered with a smirk.

Ed's head shot up and slammed against the wall of the cave. He'd nearly fallen asleep when Roy called at him, and he could've easily strangled the man for it. He was so tired, so fatigued. "Ow…" Ed moaned, rubbing the back of his head.

Roy reached out with his hand and felt around. He thought his hand brushed against something soft, and when he went to further investigate, he found that his hand was resting atop something smooth, silky, and moving. _'Please tell me that's Fullmetal…' _He thought desperately.

"Tell me that's _your _hand on top of my head," Ed begged.

Roy sighed in relief and nodded, not realizing Ed couldn't see him. "Yeah, that's me. Damn, kid, you've got some soft hair. No wonder you don't want to cut it," Roy joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up," Ed mumbled, fumbling to grab Roy's sleeve. "Now get us somewhere we can see."

Roy, with a bit of difficulty, led Ed closer to the entrance of the cave where some of the setting sun's light could shine in. The colonel nearly fell out of his metaphorical chair at the sight that greeted him in the light. Ed was even worse than he first thought. Roy could not believe he didn't notice all that blood when they were fleeing from the homunculi.

"Holy shit, Fullmetal," Roy gaped, eyes landing on every single bruise, cut, and scrape.

Ed tried to wipe some of the blood from his forehead but just ended up smearing it around. "Quit your gawking."

Roy crawled over next to Ed and grabbed his arm. There was a deep gash running down his upper arm, dirt and dust mixing with drying blood. Roy then turned his attention to Ed's leg, which had a similar wound running down his calf. His pants were torn near the injury and flapped pointlessly at the side. Roy had to tear his eyes away from the injuries. They were so deep and looked so painful. But when Roy looked for any signs of pain on Edward's face, there was none to be found. Instead, the boy looked sullen and subdued. He had his head leaned back against the wall and his eyes shut loosely. A few blonde strands fell in his face.

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked quietly, as if anything louder than a soft whisper would scare the blonde away. He carefully placed his hand on the boy's forehead, drawing away quickly from the intense heat. "Dammit," Roy cursed, feeling his earlier relief begin to wear off into more worry and concern.

Ed let out a muffled groan and swatted away Roy's hand which lingered in the air. "Didn't I just tell you to quit gawking? Just leave me the hell alone."

Roy grunted and sat back. "If you haven't noticed by now, you're in pretty shitty condition. I'd suggest you just shut up and let me help you."

Ed let a small chuckle bubble up from his throat. "How the _hell_ do you think you can help me?"

Roy paused and thought for a moment. _'Well… I guess I really didn't think of that one.' _Roy looked at the wounds again and started to take off his jacket. "Here, you can transmute my jacket into some bandages and we'll wrap your injuries."

"You're a moron. It'll be night soon and you'll freeze to death without that stupid jacket," Ed argued.

Roy crossed his arms and grunted. "At least I'm _trying_ to help. It's not like you've come up with any better ideas."

"You could try to get a fire going!" Ed shouted, fed up with Roy's incompetence.

"If you haven't noticed by now, I don't have my gloves!" Roy yelled, pulling out his pockets for emphasis.

"Can't you build a fire without your damn gloves!?" Ed snapped.

"Do I look like a boy scout to you!?"

"You lazy bastard! You're not even trying!"

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose as he always would when he was frustrated. "Do not raise your voice with me, Fullmetal!" Roy reprimanded. _'It's always 'Colonel Bastard' or 'Colonel Idiot' or just the classic 'bastard'! He has no respect for me as his superior! I do not need to deal with this from a subordinate. Let alone, a punk kid!'_

Ed pushed Roy away and staggered to his feet. "I'll do it myself," He grumbled while limping out of the cave.

Roy sighed angrily and jumped to his own feet. "Dammit, Fullmetal! You'll get yourself killed if you go out there all alone! Get your short ass back here and sit the hell down!"

Ed stopped abruptly and turned on his heels, nearly losing his balance in the process. "_Short_!? Did you just call me _short_!?"

Roy flinched at the flames burning in Ed's golden eyes. _'Maybe I could've left the short out…'_

Ed limped closer to Roy with heavy footsteps. "And another thing, just why the hell would _you_ want to take care of _me_!? You don't give a shit about me!"

"Just shut up and sit down already!" Roy screamed, fed up with the yelling. He grabbed Ed's tattered jacket and pulled him to the ground, resulting in a grunt of pain coming from the boy. Roy looked down to see Ed's face contorted in pain, increasing the intensity of Roy's anger. _'Way to blow it, Roy! You fucking moron! No wonder he thinks you don't give a shit! Look, you've gone and hurt him again! You always get so damn worked up and then you go and take it out on the people around you!' _Roy stomped out of the cave in a fit of rage to look for wood. "JUST STAY THE HELL PUT, FULLMETAL! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

…

Roy walked into the cave with a bundle of firewood in his arms and his head down. "Hey, Fullmetal…" He greeted quietly, feeling guilty from his earlier outburst. Roy waited for a moment, but when he received no reply, he looked up to see Ed lying against the wall, his eyes closed. Roy immediately dropped the wood and ran over to Ed, fearing the worst. _'Oh no. Please, God, no! Don't be dead! Please don't be dead!'_

"Fullmetal? Fullmetal, can you hear me?" Roy begged, poking and prodding the blonde kid.

Ed opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus on the image in front of him. _'W-what's going on? Where's Al? Where am I?' _The face in front of Ed slowly began to take focus, making the image recognizable. "Colonel?" He asked the man with jet black hair and equally black eyes.

Roy let out the biggest sigh of relief and sat back. "Sheesh, Fullmetal, you about gave me a heart attack."

Ed remembered what had happened before Roy left and decided he didn't want to be anywhere near that bastard colonel. Ed moaned and turned his head away. "What do you want, bastard?"

"I just wanted to see if you're alright," Roy replied nonchalantly as he arranged the firewood in the center of the cave. He started rubbing two sticks together, making absolutely no progress.

Ed rolled his eyes and picked up two rocks. A flash of blue sparks and a surprised look from Roy later and Ed had a flint and steel set in his hand. _'You'd think he'd know that you need flint and steel to get a spark. Some Flame Alchemist. Has the damn temper of a teenager. And I can't believe he has the audacity to yell at me like that and then ACT like he cares.' _Ed threw the two stones over to Roy and motioned with his head. "You have to use those to get a spark. Then blow on it a little to get the fire going and we can finally have some heat."

Roy nodded and smashed the steel off of the flint. In no time, flames were roaring in the darkness, casting dancing shadows over the walls. Roy took a seat opposite of Ed and stretched out his legs in front of him. The shadows on his face flickered in and out with the twirling flames.

Roy watched Ed as the boy slowly started to nod off again. _'He looks so tired… and worn… But if he falls asleep, he may not wake up. He's lost a lot of blood! And I'm sure he's got a slight concussion from that fall. I also wouldn't be surprised if he broke a few more ribs.' _Roy glanced outside and sighed. _'It's too late to try to find our way back. We'll have to wait until morning.'_

As Ed drifted in and out of sleep, bits and pieces of his typical nightmares flashed across his mind. _'Mom… no… I'm sorry… Please, don't go… I'm sorry…' _An image of his mother walking away zipped around his head. Then it switched over to Al who looked incredibly pissed. It switched between his metal body and his ten-year-old body. _'Alphonse… please, don't be mad… I didn't mean for this to happen… I… I never thought something like this would happen… I'll get your body back, I promise… No matter what…'_

Roy was watching as Ed tossed and turned in his half sleep. _'He looks really upset… What could cause him that much distress?'_

Ed's eyes shot open as a vision of Hohenheim clouded his thoughts. Ed wiped the sweat away from his face and held his shaky hand in front of his eyes. _'W-what the hell did that bastard do to me!? All he had to do was show up and say a few damn words and now I can't get one night's worth of sleep! Doesn't help that I'm stuck in a cave with the incompetent colonel bastard.'_

Roy had had enough of watching the boy suffer and thought it was time to put an end to it. "Fullmetal, what's the matter?"

Ed glared at Roy and gingerly pulled his knees to his chest. "I'm perfectly fine. Leave me alone."

"Sure you are. Because everyone who is perfectly fine acts like they're being attacked while they sleep."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bastard?"

"Recently? Only you. But it happens so often, that I think you've got it covered for a good span of time."

"Just shut up."

"No, Fullmetal, I will not shut up. I am your superior officer. If I want to talk your damn ear off, you'd better believe I'm going to."

"You're such a jerk!" Ed yelled while trying to fight off a blinding headache.

Roy started a low growl that gradually grew into a full-blown roar of anger. "Just what the hell is your problem with me, Fullmetal!? Am I really that horrible to be around!? You have no respect for me whatsoever! So tell me, why the hell do you hate me so much!?"

Ed slammed his fist into the wall and let his knees slide down. "You think _I _have a problem with _you_!? What about you, colonel!? Just what the hell is your problem with _me_!? You can't go one damn day without throwing out every insult you know! Tch. You think _I _hate _you._ I know you're just saying that to make yourself feel better about not giving a damn about me!"

"Just wait one damn minute! You think I'm only thinking about _myself_ right now!? You think everything I do is just for me! Every damn thing I do is to help you and your brother! That's all I've been concerned with since you joined the military!"

"Just keep telling yourself that, colonel! You only came to me so you could get your promotion! That's all I am to you! Just a damn promotion! All you care about is getting to the top, no matter what stands in your way!" Ed sounded as if he were on the verge of tears, but there was no chance in hell he would break right in front of the colonel.

"God dammit, Fullmetal! You're right; I did come to you to help better my own career! But I also did it because I wanted to see you keep your promise to your brother! I did it because I wanted to help you get your little brother's body back! Which, by the way, you wouldn't even have to worry about if you hadn't performed that damn transmutation in the first place!"

Ed clenched his fist shut, causing his knuckles to turn white, and gritted his teeth. He pulled up his knees and buried his face, letting stray strands of blood-stained hair fall over his legs. "Y-you're right… I'm sorry…" He whimpered quietly, getting out a barely audible sound.

"No… I didn't mean that, Fullmetal…" Roy started, feeling like a piece of shit. No, he felt lower than shit. He felt like the dirt that had been shitted on. "That was too far…"

"I… I needed to hear it. Al will never admit that he blames me. I just… needed someone to tell me it was my fault…"

"No," Roy said firmly. "It was not your fault. You can't blame yourself for that."

"And why the hell not!? I'm the one who performed it! I knew the risks!" Ed cried, looking up to meet the colonel's eyes.

_'He needs an answer, Roy. Dammit… tell him something. He's going to think it's his fault. Just think of something! Anything! Hurry the hell up, Roy! You've already screwed up enough with the kid!' _But after a few moment of thinking, Roy still couldn't think of an answer. "I…"

"'I' what, colonel!?" Ed paused for a moment and sighed. "I knew you didn't have an answer." Ed reburied his face and clawed at his pant leg. "Now that you've told me what you really think, will you just leave me alone?"

Roy put his hand up to protest, but Ed had already blocked him out. _'No… c'mon, Fullmetal, don't block me out again. Please, just talk to me. Let me prove to you that I'm not a heartless bastard. Please, don't do this.' _Unfortunately for Roy, Ed couldn't read minds nor could he hear the silent pleas.

Ed shifted his weight around, tipping and toppling in the process. _'God damn Envy! Why the hell did he have to take my arm! I need that damn thing! Without it, I'm almost as useless as the damn colonel in the rain!' _

Roy wanted to say something, _anything_. Anything that would break the silence. Anything to get the boy to open up. Hell, anything to get him to _say_ something. "So…" Roy began, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I guess you have nightmares a lot."

Ed merely grunted in response, not even bothering to look up.

_'What would earn his trust… even just a little…?' _Roy straightened up as an idea hit him. He nodded to reassure himself, and continued. "I have nightmares sometimes too. Nowhere near as often as yours, but they come around occasionally." He waited for any sign of interest to come from the blonde, but none was received. "I have visions of Ishval. All the people I was ordered to kill. They torment my sleep. Sometimes I see children's faces in a background of blood red, or sometimes I see the city in ruins."

Roy thought he saw Ed tilt his head to hear the tale a little better. With a smile, Roy continued. "I'll wake up sweating and will have a blinding headache. But there are times when even the people I killed aren't the worst things I see. Sometimes, I see all the faces of my friends and colleagues who were ordered to do the same thing. I see how it affected their lives, and how they cried themselves to sleep because of the atrocities we all performed."

Ed had lifted his head up and was no resting his chin on his arm, listening attentively.

Roy pulled up one of his knees and wrapped his arm around it. "It can get lonely when you wake up from a nightmare."

"Yeah…" Ed agreed, all traces of anger disappeared from his voice. "I… I usually have nightmares about _that_ night. And my mom… and Al… and Nina… and everyone I've failed…" Ed ran his hand through his hair and rested his forehead on his metal knee. "I've failed everyone…"

_'H-he thinks he failed everyone.' _Roy was really incredibly horrible at comforting. "B- Y-you… N-no…" He stuttered, trying to find the correct words for the situation. He needed to say something _now_. Ed couldn't sit there with those thoughts. A person could go insane if that's all they thought about. _'He must feel so alone… No, Fullmetal, you haven't failed anyone. You can't think like that. Don't say those things.' _Roy couldn't form those words on his lips, so instead he just stuttered like a babbling fool.

Ed snorted and lied down on the cold, hard ground, curling up in a ball that faced the wall and away from Roy. He pulled his red cloak up to his chin and rested his head on top of his hand. In no time, his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep, probably on his way towards yet another nightmare.

Roy sighed as he watched the boy through the dancing flames. _'I probably shouldn't let him sleep but… he looks so tired… I guess I'll just have to stay up and watch him. It's the least you can do for the kid. You were a total ass. What the hell is the matter with you, Mustang?' _Roy paused and turned his head to gaze out of the cave. His eyes wandered through the twinkling stars. _'Great, now I'm talking- err thinking to myself. This kid is driving me insane…'_

* * *

**AAAALLLLLLRIGHTY! That was chapter 10! So, I'm thinking there will probably be about two more chapters. Just a bit more action and a closer. It'll probably be cheesy and corny because it's always hard to end one of these damn stories but oh well. I'll see you all in a few days! :D**


	11. The Promise He Makes

**WOOOO! ANOTHER CHAPTER! The fun continues! And thanks to all my reviewers! You guys gave me some excellent ideas that I'm totally going to use! The help is greatly appreciated! Alrighty, I don't have much to say ha-ha. Here's chapter 11!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

* * *

**CHAPTER XI**

**THE PROMISE HE MAKES**

"Fullmetal? Fullmetal!" Roy cried as he shook Ed. Roy had fallen asleep in the middle of the night, and when he awakened and tried to wake Ed, the boy wouldn't respond. "You get your ass up, Fullmetal!" Roy noticed how Ed was shivering and taking in short, hitched breaths. "C'mon, Fullmetal, it's time to get up," He whispered quietly, thinking that taking a different approach would work better. And it did.

Ed slowly reached up and clawed at his head, almost as if he were trying to scratch away the pressure that had built up inside of him. When he tried to open his eyes, the light sent a horrible pain shooting through his skull. He noticed someone calling to him, and gave his best attempt to answer. But his tongue felt heavy and his mouth was dry. The only sound he managed to get out was a pitiful moan and a small cough.

Roy sighed and pulled Ed up to a sitting position. He didn't even have to put his hand on his forehead to feel the heat radiating from him. _'Shit… Just fantastic. He's even worse off this morning. What am I going to do!?' _Roy stared at Ed for a moment, realizing the blonde was reluctant to open his eyes. "Fullmetal, can you look at me?"

_'All that damn light is killing my stupid head. And the bastard wants me to let it in full blast. Like hell…' _Despite Ed's own protest, he slowly revealed the golden orbs that Roy was so desperately looking for. Ed noted the complete look of concern scrawled across Roy's face and snorted. "What the hell are _you_ looking at, bastard?"

"Fullmetal…" Roy started. When Ed grunted and pushed away, he gave up for the time being on trying to mend things. _'H-he's still angry… I don't blame him though. After what I said, I'd be pretty pissed too.'_

Ed gingerly pulled on his jacket and staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. He took a deep breath and took one step forward, doing everything in his will power to not fall. _'One step after another. Just like before. Just focus on your steps.'_

Roy felt increasingly guilty. While Edward could hardly walk due to his injuries and fever, Roy hardly had a scratch on him. _'And I've been so hard on him this whole time. He's never going to want to look at me again after this. No. I won't allow that. I'm going to fix things. He seemed to be most open when I told him about Ishval… Maybe we just need to get past our problems with each other. Yeah… we just need to overcome our differences.'_

"Fullmetal," Roy began confidently. "I'd like to talk to you."

_'What the hell does he want now?' _Ed thought in annoyance. He rolled his eyes and glared at Roy.

"I'll take your silence as a yes."

Again, Roy was met with silence.

"Fullmetal… I want you to know that you're very um… important to me. Both you and your brother. I… I never want to see either of you hurt. And if I ever seem uncaring or distant… it's only because I'm not very good with asserting my feelings. And… I'm sorry for what I said last night. There's no excuse for the words I said."

Ed stumbled over a rock and caught himself on the wall. But he kept going as strong willed as ever. "You're so full of shit, Mustang, that your eyes are brown."

"Technically they're black. And I'm not joking with you, Fullmetal! I really do care!"

"Just stop lying to me!" Ed shouted as he stumbled out of the cave and into the intense morning sunlight. _'I can't take it anymore! I'm sick of him and his lies! I don't need his sympathy! I don't WANT his sympathy! I just want him to leave me alone!' _Ed took off into a dead run, trying to chase away his thoughts.

Roy chased after Ed as they ran through the quarry. It soon fizzled out and led into the forest where the shrubbery was dense and visibility was limited. _'I have to stop him before we get too far in! I can't lose him in this forest! He's too weak! He'll die before nightfall!' _Roy quickened his pace and kept a sharp eye on Ed. "Fullmetal! Come back!"

Ed turned to see the colonel gaining on him, which hadn't been a smart idea. With his gaze turned away from the path ahead, he didn't see the tree that was blocking his course. He turned just in time to see the large oak collide with his face, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Ouch…" Ed muttered as he lied on the hard ground, not even trying to get up.

"Fullmetal! Fullmetal, are you alright!?" Roy questioned with much alarm tainting his tone.

Ed just kept his eyes squeezed closed. _'If I ignore him, he'll go away, right? Isn't that how it usually works?' _Unfortunately for Edward, ignoring the problem only made it worse.

Roy knelt down and grabbed Ed's shoulders. "Answer me dammit! That's an order!"

"Go away…" Ed moaned while slapping his hands away. He rolled over and pushed himself off the ground with a grunt. "Just leave me be…"

"No."

Ed's eyes flashed open and he scooted away. "W-what do you mean _no_?"

"I'm not leaving you alone. I'm never leaving you. So quit telling me to go away."

Ed gasped and bowed his head to the ground. _'H-Hohenheim left… I-I've been alone ever since… All I have is Al… That bastard never came back. Not even for mom's funeral. H-Hohenheim left us… but this bastard is telling me he won't leave… He chased after me. He wouldn't let me get away. M-maybe he does care… maybe just a little…'_

"Fullmetal?"

Ed looked up and smiled at Roy. "Thanks, Mustang."

_'Did he just say thanks? I guess all he wanted was for someone to tell him they'd always be there. That they'd never leave…' _Roy paused and blinked a few times. _'Because of Hohenheim! He left Ed and Al all alone! That's why! He doesn't get close to people because he's afraid they'll leave! Because of that bastard Hohenheim…'_

Roy reached out and placed his hand lightly on Ed's shoulder. "I'm not leaving you, Fullmetal. And I never will. That's a promise." He smiled as Ed slowly looked up to meet his eyes. "I'll always be there for you, whether you want me there or not."

Ed nodded and shakily got to his feet with some assistance. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of here. I'm starving," Ed joked, lightening the mood.

Roy let out a snide snicker and took a few steps forward. "You really had me worried there for a moment, Fullmetal. I thought you'd gone mad when you said thanks. I was afraid that fever finally melted all of your brain cells."

"Oh shut up, you bastard! I can take it back if you'd prefer it that way!" Ed growled halfheartedly.

Roy laughed and shook his head. "No no. I want to savor it. I think I'll keep it for a while."

Ed snorted and took a few steps ahead of Roy. "You're damn right because I don't give them out often. You just keep that one tucked away in your pocket." Ed looked down and sighed. _'I guess I'd better tell him. He deserves to know…' _Ed kicked a few rocks out of his way and rubbed his hand on his pants. "Hey, colonel, I have something to tell you…"

Roy looked at the boy curiously, shocked by the blonde's quietness and subdued behavior. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Those few days… I took a trip home to Resembool. And while I was there… I saw Hohenheim… That's why I was late turning the report in…"

_'He saw Hohenheim! I can't believe that bastard had the nerve to show his face in front of him! And from the sound of things, it wasn't too pleasant of a reunion. Whatever that bastard did, it really had an effect on Fullmetal. No wonder he told me it was 'none of my damn business.' I wouldn't want to talk about a bastard like him either.' _Roy stared at Ed and sighed. "Don't worry about it, Fullmetal. And don't even bother thinking about that Hohenheim. He's not worth it for you to worry."

"Thanks, colonel," Ed mumbled while staring down the dirt path.

Again, Roy was shocked by the thanks. But he figured Ed wouldn't want to discuss it any further so instead, they walked in silence. They'd gone nearly three miles when things started to go downhill.

Roy saw some movement flicker in the corner of his eye and took action. He tackled Ed to the ground just as a tree come crashing behind them. "What the hell!?" He shouted through the cloud of dust and debris.

"State alchemists, dogs of the military, today shall be your judgment day. God has made us cross paths once again, further increasing my desire to right the wrongs you Amestrians have befallen onto my people."

_'Shit.' _

Roy hauled Ed to his feet and peered through the dust. "Stay behind me, Fullmetal!"

Ed did as he was ordered and stayed right behind Roy, coughing from all the dust and dirt. _'No no… It can't be him. Not now.'_

"Come out, Scar. Show your face," Roy ordered calmly, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure Ed was still there.

Through the mess, Scar stepped out and revealed his face. "Flame Alchemist, Colonel Roy Mustang and Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric; I have come for you both."

Ed smirked and stepped forward. "At least we know we're close to Central now. C'mon, Scar, just skip along now! We really need to be on our way!"

Scar glanced at Ed and frowned. "You do not look very well, boy. You appear to be in pain. I will show you mercy and put you out of your misery quickly."

Roy growled and extended his arm in front of Edward. "Stay away from him. He had nothing to do with the Ishvalan War. It's me you want. Leave him alone."

"I vowed to destroy all state alchemists. The boy is a dog. I will destroy him."

"No! You keep away from him!" Roy made a move to attack Scar but Ed grabbed his sleeve.

"No, colonel! You don't have your gloves!"

Scar placed his hand on the tree next to him and smiled. "The boy is without his automail arm and the man is without his gloves. Both are without that retched alchemy. My job will be simple today." The tree exploded around his hand and fell towards Roy and Ed.

Roy grabbed Ed and pulled him to the side, just barely missing the falling tree. _'Bastard wasn't kidding… we really are defenseless.' _Roy glanced at Ed and then back at Scar. "Run, Fullmetal."

Ed shook his head with wide eyes. "N-no… you promised you wouldn't leave me…"

"I'm not leaving you! I just need you to get out of my way! I can meet up with you after I kick this moron's ass! Just go!"

Roy pushed Ed away, hoping he would start running. But Scar had already been on the offense and was coming for them. "You won't escape me today, alchemists!" He reached for Edward's head, but stumbled as his target was pulled away.

"If you won't leave then make yourself useful! Put up a wall!" Roy ordered. Ed complied quickly and made a wall from the ground. It circled around Scar and created a temporary barrier. "Alright, Fullmetal, what can you do? What can you make?"

Ed looked around and let his scientific mind take over. _'Nitrogen in the ground, ammonia in the soil, phosphorus in the plants… I can do it.' _Ed looked up at the colonel with determined, golden eyes. "I can make a bomb. It won't be very strong, but it'll give us enough of a decoy to get away. But… I can't make a timer."

Roy growled in anguish but nodded. "What do you need?"

Ed listed off the materials as Scar beat on the makeshift walls. Ed had to continually change its chemical structure so Scar couldn't deconstruct it. It was beginning to take a toll on him. But a glimmer of hope found its way into his eyes as Roy returned with the necessary materials.

"Alright, Fullmetal, you make this thing then give me that cuff. I'll set it off."

"No! I'm not going to let you do that! No one else is going to die trying to help my brother or me! You were right! It's my fault we're in this mess! Now I'm going to be the one who gets us out!"

"This isn't your fault, Fullmetal! It's neither one of our faults! And you said it was going to be a weak bomb! I can handle it! You're in too shitty of a condition to handle an explosion!"

The blue alchemic flames still surrounded the walls that contained Scar. Ed was nowhere near running out of combinations, but odds were that Scar would still happen to chance the same chemical makeup and destroy the wall.

"No… I can handle it. Besides, you won't know how to set it off." Ed had a shit-eating grin plastered on his dirty, scraped up face. He had his own doubts though. He really didn't have the strength to hold up against a bomb. He looked back at the wall as another idea popped into his mind. "I have a better plan! I'll put the bomb in that wall and when he goes to destroy it, it'll blow up! We'll get enough of a head start that it shouldn't cause too much damage!"

Roy nodded and shoved the materials closer to the wall. "Wait until I give you the signal."

Ed gave a single nod and continued transmuting the wall. Roy had taken position next to Ed and was watching the boy nervously. Everything had to be done with precise timing. _'This is it. If something goes wrong here, all of that fighting and running was for nothing.' _Roy stared at Ed, fear clouding his thoughts, but nonetheless gave the signal. "Now!"

The blue alchemic sparks surrounded the materials and the wall, and Edward combined the two. The moment the sparks vanished, Roy dragged Ed to his feet and took off running. What they didn't expect was for Scar to transmute the bomb so quickly, and with so much power. He was obviously pretty pissed off. A bright white light followed by a series of flames and flying rubble filled the forest, causing all the animals in the surrounding area to scatter. The explosion was much larger than either of the alchemists could've expected.

"Fullmetal!" Roy cried as the explosion separated them. He saw Ed slam into a tree and be covered by rubble before following a similar path himself. He felt a shock of pain run around his head before allowing his vision to be clouded by spots. His ears were ringing and his surroundings seemed to be spinning.

_'Uhn… F-Fullmetal… I… I have to get to him…' _Roy willed himself to his hands and knees, knowing that every second he pissed around was another chance for Scar to come after them. "Fullmetal!?" Roy called as he staggered to his feet, leaning against a tree for support. "Answer me!"

Roy waved away some dust and peered through the wreckage. He heard a small cough and started his way for it. A small flash of red caught his eye and he dove for it.

Ed barely saw Roy kneel down in front of him, and could hardly even register what was happening. Something warm and sticky was running down his face, trickling around his eye and down his cheek. Then there was that high-pitched ringing in his ears that wouldn't go away. And to top it all off, he couldn't see through all the spots in his vision. Ed was vaguely aware of himself be rolled over, but it only added to his pain.

"C'mon, Fullmetal, you have to get up! We have to run!" Roy pleaded, trying to get the boy to respond. _'We don't have time for this! Scar could get free at any moment!' _Hardly aware of what he was doing, Roy gathered Ed into his arms and started running. He headed around the wreckage, towards where Scar had come from. That would be the way to Central.

…

"How can they still be missing!? It's been two days!" Breda shouted as he scratched his head furiously.

Riza sighed and watched the group of MPs file out of the civilian home. They were on the outer edge of Central, and things were beginning to look dim. "I'd be lying if I said things we're looking good." She turned to an MP who saluted her. "Alert the surrounding towns and anyone coming in and out of Central. We'll finish the remaining houses around here and begin in the next town. We have to find them."

"Yes, sir!" The man answered as he dashed off to make some calls.

Riza turned her head to the sky, taking in the glorious sunshine. There was hardly a cloud to be found, and the sun was shining brightly. The weather had finally turned around from the recent cold spurt, and it was warm once again. "It's a shame those two can't enjoy this weather…" She whispered to herself.

"I'm really worried about the chief. If all of that blood was his, then he has to be pretty bad off. I wish we'd find them soon. And who knows what's happened to the colonel. He could be just as bad," Breda ranted as he paced along the sidewalk.

"Edward is a strong boy. We just need to find them soon and he'll be just fine. And the colonel will be just fine as well. I just know it." Riza's cold gaze didn't falter as she stared up into the blue atmosphere. Only when an explosion sounded from the forest up ahead did she tear her gaze away. Smoke climbed into the air and a few fires spread up into the trees.

"What the hell was that!?" Breda shrieked after jumping a few feet into the air.

Riza turned to her crew and motioned with her head. "Let's go. There may have been civilians near that explosion, so get an ambulance ready. We're departing now!"

Breda, Falman, Fuery, and Hawkeye, along with twenty or so other MPs piled into their black military cars and darted off for the sight of the explosion. The trip was quick and as soon as they were close, all of Mustang's crew practically jumped out of the moving cars.

Riza pulled her gun out and pointed it to the ground with stiff arms, ready to fire at any moment. The sound of fire trucks and ambulances filled the area, adding to the intense scene. Everyone watched and waited for a minute, not wanting to run directly into the carnage.

Through the flames and smoke, a blur of blue and red began to form. Riza and the rest of the crew watched as Roy ran out of the burning forest with Edward limp in his arms. The colonel's face flashed with surprise at the sight of his crew, but he took that to his advantage and picked up his pace.

"Colonel Sir!" Riza called, her voice actually sounding happy and relieved. She rushed up to the man and let the worry creep back into her mind.

"It's Ed and the colonel!" Breda shouted triumphantly. He gave Fuery a high-five and motioned for the firemen to put out the fire.

Roy leaned over and panted, making sure not to go too far so Ed wouldn't slip out of his grasp. He smiled at Riza and glanced around. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry about my unannounced leave. I hope the paperwork hasn't piled up too high."

Riza sighed and waved over some EMTs. "Sir, now isn't the time for jokes. Although I do appreciate your positive demeanor, it appears as if both you and Edward need medical attention."

Roy hesitantly stared at the stretcher that had been rolled in front of him. He was protectively holding Edward in his arms, nervous that something else bad would happen if he let him go. _'What if we're separated and the homunculi come back. I won't be there for him! I promised him I wouldn't leave! I can't let him go!'_

"Sir, he'll be alright. Just let the EMTs take it from here. We only have one available ambulance so I'll be taking you to the hospital."

Roy stared at Ed. The boy's breathing was shallow, and sweat beaded from his face. Blood was dripping from his head, splattering to the ground in an ever growing puddle. His cheeks were flushed and red and his face was scrunched up in pain. A small whimper escaped his lips.

"Alright… but I swear, if anything bad happens to him, I'll have every damn one of you arrested!" Roy shouted half jokingly and half seriously. He carefully laid Ed onto the stretcher and watched as he was wheeled away.

Riza took stance next to Roy with a small, proud smile on her face. "Let's go, sir. We'll get you looked at and then we'll go see Edward."

"Yes, lieutenant, let's go." Roy crawled into the car next to Hawkeye and stared out the window as they drove off towards the hospital.

"We'll need a full debriefing from both you and Edward once the two of you are better. We're still going to be on the search for your kidnapers, and we won't rest until we find them."

"Don't bother. It was a homunculus. There's no way in hell that we'll find them. Besides, I don't think they'll be coming back for us." Roy let out a small laugh as he remembered the contradictory thought he had just moments before. _'Don't worry, Fullmetal. I'm coming right now. You're not alone. I'm right here for you. Just wait for a little while… I'm coming…'_

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**Well, I am sad to say that the next chapter will be the last. I'd like to thank all of those who've reviewed, favorite, followed, or put my story into a community. You all really make my day brighter! Okie dokie, I'll see you all in a few days with... the final chapter!**


	12. The Toast to Sum it Up

**Sniff sniff... Hello, friends. I am sad, yet joyous, to say this is the final chapter of Overcoming Differences. Words will never be able to express just how immensely grateful I am to absolutely everyone who reviewed, favorite, or followed my first story. Thank you so much. I've started another story, but I've been so busy with the school art show and this HOBY thing I have to go to, it may be a week or so before I can get anything posted. **

**Well, without further ado, Chapter 12 of Overcoming Differences!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**

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**CHAPTER XII**

**THE TOAST TO SUM IT UP**

"Sir, please do stop your pacing. I promise Edward will be alright. You know how strong he is," Riza attempted to comfort. She sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair that lined the hall outside of Ed's room. Breda and Fuery were fast asleep in the chairs next to her, while Falman and Havoc were going through some paperwork.

Roy was pacing back and forth in front of the door, occasionally risking a glance into the room. All he'd see would be a whole hoard of doctors sewing up some injury or wrapping white bandages around another. Roy was lucky; he came away from the experience with hardly a scratch. _'Thanks to Fullmetal… he saved my ass more times than one.'_

"Yeah, just relax, colonel. We're all on edge about this but at least _we're_ not putting ruts into the floor," Havoc taunted with a smile. He dug around his pockets and pulled out one of his famous lighters and a cigarette.

"Don't you even think about lighting that," Roy ordered, his voice almost as stern and cold as Riza's.

Havoc sighed and shoved the cigarette and lighter back into his pocket. "Well shit, colonel, at least I've got a better way to calm my nerves than making poor Hawkeye seasick."

"How the hell is smoking better than pacing! You're basically begging for lung cancer!" Roy shouted as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"C'mon, colonel! Cut me some slack!" Havoc pleaded with another taunting smile.

Roy was about to snap at his subordinate when Riza cut in. "Sir, I'm worried about Alphonse. We haven't been able to reach him at all."

"Alphonse is fine. He and that mechanic are in Rush Valley."

Riza sighed and tapped her foot in irritation. "Don't you think you should _call_ them? I think Al would like to know that his older brother is in the hospital." Her words were laced with annoyance, causing Havoc to snicker. It was always a treat when Hawkeye was irritated.

"Oh… sure…" Roy traipsed over to the phone and dialed in the number for Garfiel's Automail Shop. He wasn't surprised when the phone only rang twice.

_"Hello! This is Garfiel's Automail Shop! We have the best automail and mechanic in all of Amestris! How may I help you?" _An enthusiastic voice asked from the other end of the call.

"This is Colonel Roy Mustang. May I speak with Alphonse Elric?"

_"Colonel!" _Al shouted on the other end. Roy could tell he didn't even try to hide the worry in his voice.

"Hello, Alphonse," Roy greeted casually, trying to play down the events of the past few days.

_"What happened, colonel!? Where's brother!? He promised me he'd call but he never did and then when we tried to call he wouldn't answer and we haven't been able to get a train back to Central and-"_

"Alphonse! Calm down! I'm with Fullmetal right now! We're uh… at the hospital…" Roy tried to add the last part as quietly as possible, but he wasn't surprised when he received a scream from the other end.

_"What's brother doing in the hospital!?" _Al seemed to pause for a brief moment before shouting even louder than before._ "WINRY! Brother's in the hospital! We have to get to Central right now!"_

_ 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to call Alphonse…' _Roy thought. He didn't realize he'd pulled the phone away from his ear, so he moved it back into place to speak. "Would you tell his mechanic that his arm is gone? She'll have to replace it."

_"Brother's arm is gone! Which one! His automail arm or his flesh one!? Tell me it's not his real arm!"_

"Please calm down, Alphonse. It was just his automail arm. I promise to tell you everything when you get here. So just catch the next train back to Central and we'll talk then. Try not to worry too much as well. It's not good for you."

_"Yes, colonel. We'll be there tomorrow morning! And uh… thanks for calling."_

Roy sighed as the phone call ended. He turned back towards his subordinates and shook his head. "No. No, that wasn't a good idea. He totally freaked out. But they'll be here tomorrow morning. We should send someone to get them."

"I'll call Major Armstrong. He knows those two and is the easiest to spot," Riza suggested. Roy nodded and Hawkeye left to call the Major. She opted to use one of the phones at the front desk so Breda and Fuery wouldn't be woken up.

Roy started his pacing again, now scratching at his pants for extra measure. He looked down at his watch and was shocked to see it was actually pretty late. He didn't think they'd been in the hospital that long. _'It's already eleven at night… What the hell could be taking those doctors so long!?'_

As if they could read the colonel's mind, the group of doctor's burst out of the room, tearing off blood stained gloves and surgical masks the whole time. Roy rushed up to them with big, curious eyes. He looked like a dog begging for handouts.

"Mr. Elric is going to be just fine. Poor boy lost a lot of blood so we had to give him a transfusion, and he needed stitches on his arm and leg. Luckily, his head injury could be handled with just bandages. He had some minor internal bleeding, nothing life threatening. When you brought him in, he had a terrible fever. Luckily, it just broke on its own and he should recover from it quickly. He has a minor concussion, but other than that, he's fine. All in all, Mr. Elric is one lucky boy."

"I don't know how all of that constitutes fine but despite that, thank you doctor. I really appreciate it. Would it be alright if we saw him?"

"You may, but he's asleep right now. And I can assure you that he won't be waking up anytime tonight. Poor kid looks like he hasn't slept in weeks…" The doctor mumbled as he walked off, leaving Mustang and his crew to themselves once again.

Roy practically dove into the room, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. He managed to stumble over to the bed and get a good look at Ed. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. _'He looks a lot better without all that blood and dirt caked on him. And he actually looks… peaceful…' _Roy pulled a chair over to the bedside and fell into it.

There was a light knock on the door as Riza poked her head into the room. "Sir?"

"Come on in."

She waved the rest of the crew in and they crowded behind Roy. "How is he, boss?" Fuery questioned, his voice young and innocent sounding.

"He needs to rest. But the doctor says he'll be fine."

Riza placed her hand on Roy's shoulder and gave him a nod. "We're going to head home, sir. We'll be back to debrief the two of you tomorrow. I'd suggest you get some rest as well, colonel."

"I'll certainly try," Roy responded with his own smile. _'But if I get any sleep, it'll be right here. I'm not leaving him alone. Not tonight. Not ever.'_

…

Roy awakened the next morning to sunlight streaming in his eyes and a kink in his neck. "Ugh… damn hospital chairs." He suddenly remembered just why he was in the hospital and his head shot up. He had fallen asleep at the edge of Ed's bed and found that the boy had moved closer to him during the night. "Fullmetal?" He whispered.

Ed moaned and squinted in the light. "Colonel? What're you doing here?" His voice was a tad raspy but he sounded much healthier than the previous day.

"What? I wasn't going to let you wake up all alone! I'm not _that _much of a bastard." Roy smiled at Ed and leaned back in his uncomfortable chair. "Oh and don't kill me but I called Al."

Ed chuckled and pushed himself into a sitting position, grunting a bit from being sore. "I bet he wasn't too happy about this."

"Yeah, he's pretty worried. He and your mechanic should be here in just a little while."

"What the hell, colonel!? Why'd you tell Winry!?" Ed cried in fear. _'I don't want to be beaten with a wrench today! My head already hurts enough as it is!'_

"Uh… sorry…?" Roy apologized with a confused expression. "I thought you were in love with that mechanic of yours? Why aren't you happy to see her?"

"GAH! SHUT UP YOU MORON!" Ed screeched.

"Alright, alright, Fullmetal, cool your jets," Roy laughed. He stood up and brought over a tray the nurses left behind. "Here, you should eat something. My crew will be back later to debrief us and it may take a while."

"Thanks!" Ed barely finished his word as he began to inhale the food on the tray. Within minutes, everything was gone… save the milk. Ed gave the little white bastard his best death glare and growl.

"Alright, Fullmetal, drink your mi-" Roy was cut off by a large suit of armor flying into the room and diving for the bed.

"BROTHER!" Al cried as he shoved the colonel out of his way. "Brother, what happened to you!? Why are you so beat up!? I only left you alone for a few days!" He knelt down next to the bed and rested his hands on the white sheets.

Ed laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Al. I didn't mean to worry you. I'll tell you everything that happened." Ed reached over and placed his hand on top of Al's helmet.

"Just wait a minute!" A voice called from the hall. A few moments following, Havoc, Hawkeye, and Falman entered the room with reports in hand. "You can tell all of us at once. We need to debrief you anyways," Havoc explained. Situating his wheelchair directly in front of Ed's bed, Havoc positioned the report perfectly to write every single detail.

Just as the two were about to begin their story, another, much more frightening scream sounded through the halls. "EDWARD ELRIC, YOU ALCHEMY FREAK! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN A HOSPITAL!?"

"GAH! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ed shrieked as he started to jump out of the bed. Roy quickly pinned Ed to the bed, stopping the boy's escape. "Let me go! She'll kill me!"

Roy was actually a little nervous. He wasn't sure if this whole thing was some sort of joke or if Ed was serious. _'Maybe I should have the lieutenant keep the mechanic out for a while. At least until Fullmetal can defend himself…'_

As the footsteps neared the room, Roy became more and more nervous. He was expecting Winry to come in with a wrench-gun or something. But he didn't expect the girl to walk in with a sad, concerned look on her face.

"Edward…" She whispered with her head bowed to the ground. She slowly walked over to the bed, Roy and Al clearing a path for her, and set her toolbox gently on the ground.

Ed realized he was receiving glares from everyone in the room so he started to laugh. "Hey, Winry! How was Rush Valley!? I bet all of your clients were happy to see you!" Ed shouted in an enthusiastic yet nervous voice.

Winry looked up with bright, watery eyes and a smile on her face. She threw her arms around Ed and laughed. "You dummy… don't ever scare us like that again." She pulled away and looked to Ed's missing arm, not noticing the red that was creeping up in Ed's face. She sighed in frustration and put her hands on her hips. "Looks like you've gone and destroyed another one of my beautiful arms. You know I'm going to have to charge you for having to start from scratch, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Winry. I'll be more careful with the new one."

Winry sighed again and started digging through her box. "I guess I'd better start on it. We'll need to take a look at your leg too." She started off into a rant about her automail and Ed didn't bother to stop her.

Eventually, Hawkeye cleared her throat, signaling for all attention to be on her. "If you don't mind, Miss Rockbell, I need to debrief these two. They were just about to explain what had happened."

"Oh! I can work on this later! I want to know what happened!" Winry shrieked as she flopped into a chair next to Al.

Roy returned to his seat next to Ed and they began. It took them so long to go over all the details, the nurses eventually brought lunch to everyone in the room. At some points, Ed and Roy would get so into the explanation that they'd be shouting what had happened. They sounded as if they were truly telling a story that they'd read out of a book. When it was all said and done, Roy placed his hand on Ed's shoulder and smiled at the boy.

"It may have been tough and it might have looked pretty bleak for a while, but in the end, I think everything turned out better than it was before," Roy commented after taking a sip of his water. _'And to think, Fullmetal and I thought we hated each other. But now he knows that I'm always going to be here and I'll make sure that he never feels alone again.'_

Ed looked to Roy and smiled, his eyes golden and fiery with new life and energy. _'I… I don't think I've ever been happier than I am now to see Mustang around. He really does care about me… And now I'll never be alone again. I'll never be alone again…'_

Havoc let out an unexpected laugh and picked up his glass. "I propose a toast!" He paused and waited until all was looking at him. "To overcoming differences!"

"To overcoming differences!"

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**Okay, yeah, that was a corny ending but eh, why not? Endings are hard enough as it is lol. So I hope you all enjoyed this story and I'll always love and accept reviews! Especially now that it's complete. **

**On another note, I'd really appreciate it if you'd read my first one-shot When You Forget the Date. That'd really make my day!**

**Alright, my friends, until the next story! **


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